


SOULless, not Heartless

by LuluCalliope



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, F/M, Mom Toriel, My First Work in This Fandom, Protective Sans, Reader is Pacifist Frisk, Reader-Interactive, Tsundere Flowey, Undertale Pacifist Route, Yandere Flowey
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-20
Updated: 2017-10-10
Packaged: 2018-05-21 23:11:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 30
Words: 32,332
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6061666
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LuluCalliope/pseuds/LuluCalliope
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A strange one-shot I wrote for Valentine's Day. If people want me to continue this, I think I will~</p><p>Edit: Okay, I lied, it's not a one-shot anymore! If you want me to continue it, just say so in the comments!</p><p>She just wanted to test a theory: what would Flowey say to a certain claim? Now that she's here, she might as well explore the rest of the Underground and go home.</p><p>Now that she's here, Flowey might as well try to find a way to gain ultimate power before Frisk can enter the Underground and bring Chara back from the dead.</p><p>The female human isn't part of his plan. Why is he following her?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Test

**Author's Note:**

> Here's a little something for all the Flowey lovers! ;)

The young woman opened her eyes and stared up at the hole in the mountain. Sunlight fell down and touched the bed of flowers that held her body. She sat up and smiled. _Right where I wanted to be…_

She stood and faced the dirt path. She knew that at the end of the path, she’d find another bed of golden flowers and...him. She had gotten so used to him that she’d memorized every part of his being. When she closed her eyes, she saw him. Everything about him haunted her: his dexterous leaves, his expressive face, his powerful voice, and his heart. These entranced her in more ways than one. Those leaves would beckon to share LOVE. Then they would snatch six SOULS from prisons to be claimed by him. That expressive face could look upon others with kindness and concern one moment, but become distorted with demonic, evil insanity in the blink of an eye. And that voice had such a range...one moment it was high-pitched…

_“See that heart? That is your SOUL, the very culmination of your being! Your SOUL starts out weak, but can grow strong if you gain a lot of LV. What’s LV stand for? Why, LOVE, of course! You want some LOVE, don’t you?”_

...the next it was deep and full of sinister smugness…

_“You idiot. In this world, it’s kill or be killed. Why would ANYONE pass up an opportunity like this?!”_  

...and it could be torn between a happy squeak and a threatening growl… 

_“Your WORTHLESS friends can’t save you now. Call for help. I dare you. Cry into the darkness! ‘Mommy! Daddy! Somebody help!’ See what good it does you!”_

All of these features attracted her to him, and yet they frightened her. And yet...she was going to meet him for the first time. 

She only knew him as Alphys knew Frisk: through cameras, screens, and observations. But now she was in the Underground. She was going to play his game and test something… 

There he was, at the end of the path. His eyes lit up with faux surprise, then kindness. She waited for him to finish his speech about LOVE. Then she spoke before he could offer to share his ‘friendliness pellets’ with her. “You think you’re better than me because of Determination. But...I know you’re not. And I know that you don’t really want to destroy this world.”

Flowey’s expression changed to surprise, then smug confidence. “Oh, really? Really, Chara?” The charade of kindness was gone. 

“I’m not Chara. And you’re not evil.” She took a deep breath. “I remember the Genocide Route. I didn’t go down that path, but someone else did.” She looked him straight in the eyes. “You were right...someone was watching. It was me. I saw what happens in the Genocide Route.” A small smile touched her face. “I saw you, Asriel.” 

“Stop it,” Flowey ordered. 

“I heard you, Asriel. I heard you beg for your life.”

“Stop.”

“I saw you cry. You wanted Chara to stop.” 

“ENOUGH.” His eyes seemed to flash red for a moment. It frightened her. _Maybe I should go find Toriel…_  

“That concludes my test,” she muttered out loud, then ran past Flowey and in the direction of the Ruins, trying to ignore the strange feeling she had in her chest.

  
Flowey stared after her, confused and stunned. “What test?!” He demanded, but she was long gone. But...she left something behind. She must have attacked him with some special move, because he felt...funny.


	2. A Plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Flowey/Asriel devises another plan to regain his place as Prince of the Underground.

Flowey’s head hurt. He didn’t have a real head anymore, but he had a face and petals. When his “head” hurt, his highest petals began to tickle and sting the corners of his mind. He felt that every time he died and every time he reset. He hated this feeling and the people he associated with it.

Sans. That stupid, smiling skeleton was lazy. How could he have caused Flowey dozens of resets?! And his idiotic brother, Papyrus...at one point in time, the fool had been fun to toy with. Now, he hated the sight of the skeleton siblings. One was boring, the other was god-like...and wasn’t worthy of the powers he possessed.

Frisk. The eighth human would never stop coming back. This child would never stop playing Flowey’s game...the game he wanted to play by himself. Oh, it had been fun when Flowey led six other children to their deaths and watch their SOULS become imprisoned. But Frisk would take the SOULS and free the Underround, then repeat this process over and over and over...Flowey’s memories would be erased every time this happened, and he had no way of proving that this was true, but in the back of his mind, he knew he was right.

Chara. There wasn’t just one Frisk. Frisk, Flowey, and the rest of their universe existed in multiple places at different times...infinite timelines, infinite possibilities...but there was one thing consistent when them all: Chara, the first fallen human. Flowey, in another life, had called Chara “friend” and “sibling”. Monsters would see them playing together and say, “There go the Dreemurr siblings! Aren’t they precious?” But Chara was evil. Despicable. Loathsome. Selfish. Chara destroyed Flowey’s past life and, in some timelines, the world. Chara would possess Frisk in every timeline. Sometimes Frisk could destroy Chara through certain ACTS...but if Frisk chose to FIGHT, then Chara’s influence would become stronger. Chara would win. Flowey HATED it when Chara won.

Flowey hated them all. Sans, Frisk, Chara...they had the power of Determination...a power that was meant only for him. The other human children had it, too, and other monsters had it, but with these three individuals...the power was just as strong as his. They RIVALED Flowey. And it wasn’t fair.

Flowey could remember...or, he thought he could remember...telling Frisk in some timelines, “What will you do if you meet a relentless killer? You’ll die and you’ll die and you’ll die. Until you tire of trying. What will you do then? Will you kill out of frustration? Or will you give up entirely on this world...and let ME inherit the power to control it? I am the prince of this world’s future.”

He narrowed his eyes. That was right; he WAS the prince. The Determination should belong to him and to him alone! “In fact,” he mused aloud, “I wonder if...what’s to stop me from...taking the SOULS, destroying them all, and building a stronger barrier…?” His words echoed back to him, and a devious smile graced his little flower face. Yes...it was a good plan! If he could destroy those three: Frisk, Sans, and Chara...or better yet, gain ultimate power before Frisk and Chara had a chance to enter this current timeline...then that would be two less threats to him! He could be one step closer to his own happy ending! All that would be left would be that pathetic skeleton...and even though Sans was powerful, Flowey was more patient than he was.

Flowey cackled to himself. “That’s a wonderful idea!” He complimented himself. He pulled himself into the ground, where he had a special system of tunnels that he used to get to different areas of the Underground. _While I’m at it, I might as well see what that girl is up to..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I said I'd only continue this if people wanted me to, but this was rolling around in my head and I had to get it out!
> 
> If it continues, Sans and Papyrus will definitely be making appearances.


	3. Limited Emotions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Flowey contemplates lust. *facepalm* What the heck am I doing...?
> 
> Okay, I was bored in class and I started writing stuff and it became this chapter! I assume no one wants me to continue this...
> 
> EXCEPT OUR TEN WONDERFUL KUDOS VIEWERS
> 
> ...thank you, Mettaton...so I'm just going to play with it on my own!

Flowey had grown used to the Ruins; it was where he spent eighty percent of his time. But there was one part that he didn’t get: the room with the ridiculously long hallway and nothing else except a large pillar at the end. _What is the point of this room?_ Toriel, the ‘Goat Mom’, used it to test the humans’ independence. It’s what she was doing now with the girl. Flowey could see them at the very end. The girl had her back to him, but he had a good view of Toriel’s profile. Her smile never changed. “I must leave you…” She was saying in her low, melodic voice. Flowey rolled his eyes. _The same old schtick.._. 

“I’ll be okay, I promise,” the girl said with a smile. “I know how a cell phone works. If I need your help, I’ll call you!” Toriel nodded her approval and embraced the girl in a large hug before she left the room. 

Flowey narrowed his eyes. In his past life, Toriel had been his “mom”. But then...after the death of that life, she abandoned him and the monster he had called “dad”. She abandoned the king over her so-called scruples. _Stupid hag._ He had wasted time trying to bring them together again, but even when he succeeded, it wasn’t the same. It was never the same without Chara. 

He hated Chara, but...Chara wasn’t boring. So, in a twisted way, he still cared for his former friend. And Flowey wanted to test their Determination. _Is it strong enough to stop me if I use ultimate power to destroy the entrance to the mountain? Can their Determination STILL bring them into this timeline?_

Flowey sighed. This was a game, but he couldn’t feel real amusement from it. Without a SOUL, he could only feel a few negative emotions. Sadistic pleasure for the suffering of others, especially Frisk and the other children. Hatred and jealousy for those who had SOULS. The painful longing for a SOUL again. And, from time to time, lust.

He felt it when those airheads Catty and Bratty swooned and gushed in public over that robot Mettaton. He felt it when Mettaton appeared in public with a hoard of young female monsters. He felt it when Alphys, his creator, talked to her beloved Undyne about “Mew Mew: Kissy Cutie”

He felt it.

Flowey felt lust.

His past life had ended in childhood. His ashes scattered across the garden...and, thanks to that pathetic Alphys, he woke up as a flower. Despite this, he aged mentally and emotionally, even if he had a fragment of a child’s SOUL instead of a real one. He had the longings of a teenage male monster, and there was nothing he could do about it in this flower body. There was nothing he could do except focus on something else until his lust quieted down.

Flowey closed his eyes. In some of the timelines, he could access his adult form...the form he would have if Asriel Dreemurr hadn’t died as a child. It was a wonderful form, almost as satisfying as his two god-like forms. If he could access this form when he had...urges, then maybe things would be more tolerable.

His thoughts were interrupted when the girl spoke. “I know you’re there, Flowey. I know you’re following me. Don’t you have anything better to do?” Flowey froze. _How could she have known I was here? I’m at the other end of the room...there’s no way she could have seen me unless she was closer…_ The girl left. How could she have known?! _It’s not fair!_

And those mocking words. _“Don’t you have anything better to do?_ ” That was HIS catchphrase. Well, one of them. The more popular one was, “Kill or be killed.” To hear them used by someone other than him was an alarming experience. “Don’t you have anything better to do?” Flowey mimicked her, increasing the pitch in his voice. “Don’t you have anything better to do? Why, of course I do, but I have time. I have plenty of time to see how YOU’LL do without MY help.” He giggled. “It’s MY turn to mess with you.” He pulled himself into the ground.

* * *

The girl wasn’t really sure if Flowey was following her...but she was ninety percent positive he was. After all, it was customary of him to stalk Frisk during their trip through the Underground. The first time he could be caught spying was in this room with the ridiculously long hallway. _Does this room exist only to test children and their independence?_

The girl’s heart beat with love and compassion for Toriel. She had just met the famous Goat Mom, but she already loved her like she was her real guardian. _I wish that Frisk didn’t have to leave the Ruins._ If only Frisk had stayed with Toriel...a life with her sounds practically perfect! And the girl was planning on staying with her for as long as she could. Her mind said that it was because she didn’t want Toriel to be alone, but in her heart, the girl knew that she wanted to see more of Flowey…

_I think I may have gotten on his bad side...I should be careful…_

_Maybe I should leave the Ruins after all. To keep Toriel safe…_

_But...Asriel wouldn’t hurt his mother, would he…?_

_Asriel wouldn’t, but Flowey would...._

_They’re one and the same…_

_No, they’re different…_  
Her head hurt from this inner turmoil. The girl sighed. She could do with a helping of butterscotch-cinnamon pie...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OOOOOOOOH. OUR TEN WONDERFUL KUDOS VIEWERS ARE GOING TO LOOOOOOOVE THIS!
> 
> "Our" wonderful kudos viewers?! Which one of us has the keyboard?
> 
> BUT I HAVE THE STAR POWER!
> 
> ...true. Which is why I've worked you into the story for potential later chapters. XD


	4. Dreams, Observations, Remarks...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Flowey spies on the girl and finally gets back at her for catching him off guard in his game.

Toriel’s house was even lovelier in person than it was on the screen that the girl was used to seeing it on. She could hardly believe that she was standing in Toriel’s foyer. “I’m going to bake you a butterscotch-cinnamon pie, my child. Oh...forgive me...you’re not a child anymore...you’re the oldest human I’ve ever seen enter the Ruins,” Toriel said to the girl. The girl laughed.

“That’s right, but I’ve been told I look old for my age!”

“And that is how it should be,” Toriel nodded. “When you are young, it is good to look older. When you are old, it is good to look younger. At least, that is in my opinion.” She gave the girl another hug. _She sure likes to hug...she must be so lonely…_ “The pie will be ready soon. Why don’t you get some rest? It must have been hard for you to find your way here!”

_Given that several other humans navigated through the Ruins to this house on their own, I’d say quite the opposite._ The girl smiled and said, “Well, I am tired…I’d like to rest before I go on my way.”

Toriel’s eyes flashed with sadness, but she nodded and showed the girl to the guest room. It was a room designed for a child, but she explained that the other guest room was under renovations. “I’ll probably never finish it,” the kind Monster admitted, “but I’ll have to do something with it.” She gave the girl a fleeting hug before she rushed off to the kitchen. The girl entered the room. _It looks more colorful in person...oh, it’s so pretty...and so peaceful…_ She yawned and went to turn off the light. Once the room was dark, she found her way to the child-sized bed and squeezed into it. _I’ll just rest my eyes for a few minutes..._

* * *

Flowey took a deep breath and squeezed through a crack in the floorboard. He had a plan to mess with the girl, but he wanted to...observe her first. _Why the hell am I going to all this trouble? My tunnels don’t even connect to this dump! No, I need to know when she’ll head for the Ruins exit, so I can mess with her...where is she? Is she in the other room?_ He examined his surroundings. He was in some childish bedroom, a poor replica of what his old bedroom near the palace was like. She was asleep, curled up in the child-sized bed. _It could have been MY bed…_ Wisps of her hair dangled over her face. _She’s pretty for a human_. Flowey hated her skin. It was the same shade as that awful Frisk. And he hated her eyes. They were brown, the same brown as Chara’s. But he couldn’t stop staring at her hair. It was a light color...strawberry blond? Auburn? He didn’t know. And it looked so soft…

A strangled gasp caught in his throat (or what he had for a throat) when the girl stirred a little and muttered, “Mmm...Flowey…” _She’s dreaming about me! But why?!_ Another startled gasp threatened to escape him when he heard Toriel’s footsteps in the hallway. He panicked and pulled himself under the floorboards. Toriel entered the room...and placed something on top of the entrance that Flowey had only just created to spy on the girl. _Stupid hag! I can’t see her now! Ugh. I better go outside…_

* * *

The girl had been having a lovely dream. She was in a field of Echo Flowers...and Flowey was there. He was smiling, laughing, and joking with her. He let her smell him. He smelled so nice, but she couldn’t determine what exactly the smell was. She thought it was butterscotch or cinnamon, but that was just the pie that Toriel had baked. The smell woke her from the dream. After enjoying a slice of the pie, she said farewell to Toriel and headed for the exit to the Ruins...where Flowey would be waiting.

Her heart was pounding as she walked towards the spot where he’d be. It was just like the place where she first met him: a circle of life and nature in an otherwise empty void. The circle was there...but Flowey was missing. _He’s not supposed to be missing unless you complete his game before or...you kill him before…_ “Hello?” She called out, her eyes stuck on the place where he was supposed to be. Her voice echoed back to her. “Flowey?” A hint of desperation entered her voice when there was no response. “Are you alright?!”  She tried to move around the room. She spent several minutes calling for him, begging for him, crying for him to please, please come out of hiding. But nobody came.

The girl left the Ruins in tears.

* * *

Flowey watched her run off with a smirk. “That’ll teach you. If you try to mess with ME and MY game, I’ll break you. I ALWAYS WIN.” He cackled. Oh, this was a time when it was good to not have feelings! During these times, he could do whatever he wanted and not feel any of that disgusting remorse or guilt! “That just leaves one question,” he remarked aloud. His eyes narrowed. “How DID she manage to bend my rules?” He knew that she wasn’t a threat, like Sans or Chara or Frisk; she was too emotional and soft to pose any real danger to him. But...if she had Determination...he wanted it. “I’m the only one who can have Determination, and if you have it...I’ll just have to take it from you,” he mused. “Sorry, my dear, but it’s just business.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't consider it out of character for Toriel to let the girl leave the Ruins because the girl isn't a child and Toriel believes that she can handle herself better than a child could.
> 
> WHO CARES?! LULU, YOU'RE SUCH A TEASE. THE GIRL RUNS OFF IN TEARS LIKE THAT? THERE'S NO ROMANTIC BUILDUP BETWEEN HER AND FLOWEY YET! HOW IS SHE SUPPOSED TO FALL IN LOVE WITH HIM?! HOW?
> 
> Patience, Mettaton, patience...all will come together in good time...just like Sans and Papyrus will come in the next chapter!
> 
> OOOH! FAN FAVORITES! HOW WONDERFUL! IT ALMOST MAKES UP FOR THE LACKLUSTER QUALITY OF THIS CHAPTER!
> 
> Hey, you know what?! You write your own fan fiction!!!
> 
> I HAVE. IT'S ABOUT ME.
> 
> Shocking...anywho...is there something you want to say...?
> 
> OF COURSE! A BIG SHOUT OUT GOES TO OUR LOVELY 12 KUDOS VIEWERS! YOU'RE JUST FABULOUS!


	5. insert creative title here

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the skeleton brothers take the girl's mind off of her worries and treat her to Grillby's. Flowey does some snooping.

She was still crying as she stepped through the snow outside the Ruins. She wasn’t aware of the cold. All that she felt were the tears on her face. At one point, she thought that she heard movement behind her, and she stopped in her tracks. “F-flowey?” She said in a hopeful whisper.

“who’s flowey?” A deep, mellow voice asked. The speaker stepped from behind the trees, and the girl’s mood brightened just a tiny bit. She recognized this Monster by his grin, his eye sockets, and blue winter jacket. “i haven’t even made any jokes yet, and you’re already in tears,” Sans joked. The girl sniffled and giggled. “i’m sans the skeleton,” Sans said. “and you’re a human, right?”

“Hang on, let me check,” the girl said, attempting to brighten her own mood. She cocked her head to the side as she pretended to be deep in thought. After a moment, she said, “Yeah, I think I’m a human!”

Sans chuckled. “that’s hilarious! you fell from mount ebott, right? don’t you know that humans never return from there?”

“I got curious,” the girl admitted. “But...I’m starting to regret that.”

“why’s that?”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” the girl said as she wiped her tears away with her sleeve. “Not right now.”

“you gonna be okay?”

“Yeah...I hope so.”

“that’s the spirit!” Sans chuckled. “but you know what would make you feel better? if you help my brother papyrus feel better! now, hear me out,” he continued when the girl’s expression clouded with doubt. “papyrus is obsessed with capturing humans. it’s one of his main hobbies! he hasn’t had much luck, but i know that if he sees you, he’ll feel a lot better about it. he won’t hurt you. he just wants to capture a human to ‘prove his worth’ and join the royal guard.”

“...you promise I won’t get hurt?” The girl asked. She knew that Papyrus was a sweetheart, but he was very powerful.

“i hate making promises, but i think i can promise you that he won’t hurt you,” Sans joked. The girl giggled.

“Alright, I’ll do it! What do I have to do?”

“just talk to him, and then he’ll give you a ‘really hard puzzle’,” Sans said, making air-quotes around those last three words. “once you make it through those, he’ll give up and decide that it’ll be easier to be your friend. wait, better idea. don’t move. i’ll bring him here!” With that, the skeleton wandered off in the direction that the girl had been heading. _So I was probably on my way to Snowdin after all…?_

A few seconds after he disappeared, Sans reappeared with a taller, thinner skeleton. “SANS IF THIS IS A PRANK I SWEAR TO GOD I’M…”

“you’ll what?” Sans didn’t sound threatening, but he did sound curious and mildly amused.

“...I’LL GET UNDYNE!”

“oh, okay. well, it’s not a joke. see?” The older skeleton pointed a bony finger at the girl. “she’s right there.”

“ARE YOU SURE IT’S A FEMALE?”

“pretty sure.”

“Why don’t you ask me if you’re not too sure?” The girl called over. Papyrus, despite being a skeleton, which isn’t supposed to have eyelids, blinked.

“CAPTORS DO NOT MAKE PLEASANT CONVERSATIONS WITH THE PRISONERS!”

“Oh, am I your prisoner? Sorry, I didn’t know!” The girl apologized. She tried to make her voice as sheepish as possible, but it was hard to pull off with Sans giggling.

“YOU WILL BE MY PRISONER AFTER WE FIGHT!”

“hey, come on, that’s not cool. you can’t hit a girl,” Sans pointed out. Papyrus hesitated.

“BUT...I FIGHT UNDYNE ALL THE TIME!”

“that’s different; it’s training. you can’t just fight a random girl.”

“BUT I DON’T EVEN KNOW IF IT’S A GIRL! HUMAN! ARE YOU A GIRL?”

“Yep, I’m a girl!” The girl responded.

“UGH!” Papyrus groaned. “YOU’RE RIGHT! I CAN’T HIT A GIRL, EVEN IF SHE IS A HUMAN! I DON’T KNOW WHAT I’M SUPPOSED TO DO NOW!”

“we could just go to grillby’s,” Sans suggested. The girl’s stomach rumbled. Papyrus and Sans stared over at her.

“NO! WE WILL NOT GO TO GRILLBY’S! THE GREAT AND MAGNIFICENT PAPYRUS SHALL COOK FOR THE HUMAN THE FINEST SPAGHETTI DINNER SHE HAS EVER HAD!”

“oh, well, i still vote grillby’s,” Sans shrugged.

“UN. BELIEVABLE! HUMAN! WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE TO EAT? GREASY, GRIMY GRILLBY’S, OR AT OUR LUXURIOUS HOME WHERE I SHALL CREATE THE FINEST FOOD ART?!” Papyrus shouted.

“Um...well...I wouldn’t mind Grillby’s; we can always eat at your place another time,” the girl pointed out. Sans winked at her. Papyrus stomped his foot and fumed.

“YOU’RE BOTH RIDICULOUS! THE GREAT PAPYRUS WILL EAT HIS OWN FOOD AND LIKE IT!” He stormed away. Sans and the girl burst out laughing as soon as he was out of earshot.

“see? what did i tell you? he wouldn’t hurt you!”

“You’re right!” The girl giggled.

“and you’re feeling better!”

“That’s right, I am,” she admitted as her giggles slowed down. “But...I’m still hungry. Were you serious about the dinner at Grillby’s?”

“sure, it’s on me!”

“Really? They’re going to put the food on you?” The girl joked. Sans laughed again.

“your jokes are almost as bad as mine!”

“Um...thanks?”

“let’s go to grillby’s!” Sans said. He then did something that surprised her: he offered her his arm. “shall we?”

“Lead the way, my good fellow,” she grinned as she looped her arm through his. _I need to stop feeling sad about Flowey...I didn’t come here for him. I just came here to test a theory that involved him…_

* * *

Grillby’s was surprisingly empty that night. Sans and the girl got great seats up at the counter, and Papyrus walked in about fifteen minutes after they had ordered their food. “Hey, Papyrus!” The girl waved at him. “Whatcha doing here? I thought you didn’t like the food.”

“THAT DOESN’T MEAN THAT PAPYRUS WILL LET HIS BROTHER AND THE HUMAN EAT ALONE.”

“Aw, that’s sweet!” The girl smiled.

“WHATEVER,” Papyrus grumbled. He took his seat on the opposite side of Sans. “I’M NOT EATING THIS JUNK. NO OFFENSE, GRILLBY.”

“None taken,” the fiery monster shrugged.

“i guess you could say that papyrus...doesn’t have the stomach for it,” Sans winked. The girl hesitated for a moment. Once she got the joke, she burst into another fit of giggles. Papyrus scoffed.

“IT’S NOT THAT FUNNY.”

“i don’t really tickle his funny bone,” Sans remarked, and the girl wiped a tear of laughter from her eye.

“YOU TWO ARE WEIRD,” Papyrus said. But he couldn’t stop himself from smiling.

* * *

_Okay. I can save and load. Given. So her Determination, if she has any, doesn’t rival my own._ Flowey lurked by the entrance to Snowdin, deep in thought. The thing with powerful Determination was the ability to either overrule someone else’s ability to change the world OR the ability to possess knowledge of every possible outcome to every possible situation. Frisk had the first power. Sans had the second. And the girl, from what he had seen, had neither. _Is it really worth killing her if her Determination isn’t even powerful enough to save?_ He rolled his eyes. _Whatever, I can decide later. I’m here for Sans_ . He pulled himself underground, then pulled himself up a few feet into the town. He was outside of the skeleton’s favorite restaurant: Grillby’s. He propped himself closer to a window and peered inside. _Now all I have to do is wait for him to leave and…_ Flowey’s eyes widened. “What the hell?” He gasped. “She’s actually here?!” He knew that the girl would pass through Snowdin eventually, but he had no idea that she’d actually WANT to spend time here! And with those losers! She was deep in conversation with the skeleton brothers. Flowey had no idea what she was saying, but Sans seemed very interested. When the girl finished speaking, he actually collapsed in a fit of laughter. Flowey could hear THAT from outside: those howling, breathless shrieks of laughter. _What did she say?!_ His eyes narrowed when the girl, who was also laughing, stepped down from her place at the counter to offer her hand to Sans. She helped the skeleton stand. Then he said something, and the girl blushed. _What did HE say?_ Flowey scowled. Papyrus flailed her arms, which caught the attention of the other two. Once they were quiet, the taller skeleton pointed to a television screen. That robot Mettaton was on. Papyrus looked intrigued, Sans looked bored, and the girl looked starstruck. _She’s not just weak. She’s an IDIOT. She’s acting like she’s never seen a celebrity Monster before!_ When the program ended, Sans and Papyrus chatted with the girl for a while longer. Then they stood, and Sans offered his arm to the girl. She linked her arm through his...and then the skeleton’s eyes flickered to the window where Flowey was hiding.

 _Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit!_ Flowey pulled himself underground and navigated through his system of tunnels to the outskirts of Snowdin. “Oh, God...that was close.” He took a deep, steadying breath. “Why do I even care? He probably didn’t see me. And if he did...what’s he going to do about it?” His devilish grin appeared on his features. “His SOUL will be mine!”

* * *

“...and so then the dad says, ‘The aristocrats!’” The girl finished. Sans took a wheezing gasp and then fell to the floor, tears of laughter escaping his sockets and streaming down his face.

“oh, my god, that was the dirtiest joke I ever heard! it was too much! that was awesome!”

“WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM?!” Papyrus demanded, staring down at his brother.

“It wasn’t THAT funny,” the girl laughed. She stepped down from her place at the counter and offered Sans her hand. “Hey, need a hand?”

“no thanks, i’ve got two already,” Sans smirked. But he placed his hand in hers and stood. “you’ve got a real talent for telling bad jokes. i admire that.”

“Oh, stop!” The girl smiled. But she couldn’t help the blush that warmed her cheeks.

“HEY, BE QUIET! IT’S METTATON!” Papyrus interrupted. He pointed to a television screen, where the rectangular robot covered in blinking lights was on.

“OOOOOOH YESSSSSS. GATHER AROUND, BEAUTIES, FOR TODAY’S SHOW: UNDERGROUND’S NEXT TOP METTATON!”

“METTATON HAS EVERYTHING! POPULARITY, FRIENDS, RECOGNITION…” Papyrus explained to the girl. She couldn’t take her eyes off the screen.

“Looks, charisma, talent…” She sighed.

“oh, looks like mettaton just got another member to his fan club,” Sans joked. The girl blushed again.

“W-what?! Don’t be ridiculous!” Sans gave a knowing look, and the girl giggled. She couldn’t help it! There was a part of her that was a softie for the arrogant, yet totally charismatic, fame Monster!

After the show was over, the talk became serious. “so, do you have a place to stay for the night?” Sans asked. “i assume that you’re going to the capital to talk to the king, then head home.”

“Well, yes, but I’m not in a real hurry,” she replied. “And yes, I do need a place to stay. I was just thinking I’d crash at the inn.”

“DON’T BE RIDICULOUS! YOU SHALL STAY WITH US!”

“Oh, well, I’d hate to impose…”

“nah, it’s cool! you can stay in papyrus’ room!”

“YES,” the other skeleton agreed. “BECAUSE SANS’ ROOM IS A DISGRACE.” The other two laughed, and Sans stood and offered his arm to the girl.

“let’s go, then. hey, grillby, thanks for the grub, just put it on my tab.”

“Lead the way, my good sir,” the girl joked as she linked her arm through his. She noticed that Sans was standing very still, and cocked her head to the side. “Are you okay?”

“i thought i saw something. guess not.” He shrugged. The group made their way to the brothers’ house, but Sans didn’t accompany his brother and their guest inside. “you two go on in. i gotta go check something out. i’ll be back in a few.” He left after that.

“I hope everything’s alright,” the girl said, concerned.

“HE’S FINE. COME ON, I WANT TO SHOW YOU MY FAVORITE BOOK!” Papyrus said as he pulled the girl inside.

* * *

Sans didn’t have to look for things for very long. It was one of his special powers: whenever he wanted to find something, it would just...come to him. And he wanted to find that flower. Flowey the Flower. And there he was, just outside of Snowdin. His back/stem was turned away from the town, so he didn’t see Sans approaching. “...and if he did...what’s he going to do about it? His SOUL will be mine!”

“yeah, i don’t know if that plan’s going to work out for you, buddy,” Sans interrupted, and the flower turned around to face him.

  
“Oh, shit…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someone's gonna have a bad time.
> 
> OOOOOOH LULU YOU ARE A TEASE.
> 
> Yes, I am. And you know what else? I have the next chapter allllllll planned out. And I'm not uploading it until I get some kind of feedback! Because I need to know how I'm doing! Is it good?! Bad?! WHAT IS IT?!
> 
> SUCH A DRAMA QUEEN...BUT OUR 12 FABULOUS KUDOS READERS AND ONE WONDERFUL REVIEWER ALREADY KNEW THAT!


	6. Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Flowey strikes a nerve and Sans almost gives him a bad time. Memories are explored.

Sans just stood there, his bony hands in the pockets of his hoodie. Flowey smiled to mask his fear. “So, you heard all that.” He tried to keep his voice as steady as possible.

“yup.”

_What should I say?_ Flowey could never predict Chara...and Sans always seemed to have an extra trick up his sleeve. He decided to play the villain card. “You think you’re really smart, don’t you? You spared the life of a human girl. But what good will that do? She’s just going to leave you and your brother...if the king doesn’t kill her first.” He smirked.

“buddy, if you touch the girl, you’re gonna have a bad time,” the skeleton warned.

“Oh, my, aren’t you protective? Are you worried that she’ll be gone like the others...?”

“stop.”

“...just like Daddy?”

Sans’ eyes flashed blue and he raised his arm and clenched a fist. Flowey was lifted into the air. He gasped for breath; the invisible grip on his...throat?...was too much. “Never talk about that again. Do you understand me?” Flowey struggled to break free. Sans was still using telekinesis to keep him trapped, but his eyes were empty sockets, and his voice was devoid of all cheer. Flowey made a strangled gag and nodded once. “good.” Sans released him and Flowey fell to the snowy ground, coughing and gasping. “listen, little buddy, i’m gonna spare you this time. but if you come near me, my brother, the girl, or anyone past the ruins, you’re gonna have a bad time. i don’t care if you’ll reset. i’m gonna kill you.” The skeleton walked away. Flowey watched him leave with a small smirk.

The strange thing about Flowey was that he never directly killed anyone, aside from Frisk in some timelines. But he considered the deaths of a few people to be the results of his actions. Seven, actually.

Six humans and one Monster. No matter how many times the world was reset, one thing remained consistent, just like Chara’s presence: these six humans and one Monster were already dead because of his past actions. Oh, at first he felt bad about it and tried to undo the damage. But nothing changed, and he stopped caring.

“Oh, what the heck, why should I start killing right now?” Flowey mused, returning to an earlier thought. “Why should I have to get my leaves all dirty? Besides, I’d like to see who will be the one to take down this human.” He smiled. “Maybe I’ll take that skeleton’s SOUL if he dies trying to protect her. Maybe…”

* * *

The girl yawned and stretched. She and Papyrus had gone through every book in the skeleton’s house in only fifteen minutes. “You’re a fast reader,” she commented.

“WELL, I’VE READ ALL THESE BOOKS BEFORE. AND WE DON’T GET A LOT OF NEW ONES...BUT THIS ONE CHANGES EVERY TIME I READ IT!” He pulled one last book from the bookshelf in his room. “IT’S OUR FAMILY PHOTO ALBUM! GO ON, TAKE A LOOK!” He handed it to the girl, who opened it with a smile. It seemed like a typical family album: baby pictures, birthday pictures, and the like. Except...there were a lot of pictures missing…

Papyrus didn’t seem to mind. “THERE’S GRANDPA UBOA WITH SANS!” He said, pointing to a photo of a black-and-white, smiling Monster. A swaddled baby skeleton was in his arms. Papyrus turned the page. “AND HERE’S ME WITH GRANDPA UBOA AND SANS!” In this next photo, the Monster held a different swaddled skeleton in his arms. A toddler-sized skeleton was sitting on his lap, looking at the baby with wonder. The girl noted with slight amusement that Sans seemed peaceful even as a baby, and Papyrus looked very fussy as a child. The skeleton flipped to the last page in the book. “THIS IS THE LAST PICTURE THAT WAS TAKEN BEFORE GRANDPA UBOA AND DAD WENT ON VACATION!” The last picture in the book was too blurry for the girl to properly see the Monsters. Given that it had been taken in the Hotlands, the steamy setting in the picture didn’t help. But she could make out the outlines of the skeleton brothers and the Monster from the last two pictures.

The door opened and Sans walked in. “hey, are you two alright?”

“YES! WHY WOULDN’T WE BE?”

“i dunno, just checking,” Sans shrugged. “hey, you two should sleep. we’ve got a big day ahead of us.”

“...WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH MY BROTHER?” The girl laughed. Sans didn’t even chuckle.

“hey, papyrus, don’t you have early training with undyne tomorrow? you should rest up for that.”

“BUT…” The younger skeleton pouted. “WE WERE HAVING FUN! I WAS GOING TO SHOW HER MY ACTION FIGURES!”

“we can look at them tomorrow. but we gotta rest.”

“Sans, is something wrong?” The girl asked.

“nope. we just...i’ll explain everything tomorrow.” He left without another word.

“HE’S SO WEIRD!” Papyrus complained. “AND NOT VERY MATURE! HE JUST LOVES TO PRANK PEOPLE ACROSS TIME AND SPACE!”

“Well, if he thinks we should leave tomorrow, then maybe we should rest,” the girl sighed. “And if you do have to train with Undine, then you should be ready!”

“IT’S ‘UNDYNE’, NOT ‘UNDINE’!” Papyrus corrected. But he did crawl into his car-bed and fell asleep within half an hour. The girl knew this because she could hear him grumbling to himself and she could see him moving in his bed from her place on the floor. Papyrus had given her a squishy purple sleeping bag, which was surprisingly comfortable. She closed her eyes a few minutes after Papyrus stopped tossing and turning. _Sleep is good..._

* * *

_“Hey, Chara, what are you doing?”_

_“Hush, brother. It’s that strange scientist. I’m going to frighten him.”_

_“Hehe, what are you going to do? Wait...Chara, be careful…”_

_“Be quiet and watch me.”_

_“CHARA, STOP!”_

* * *

The girl jolted awake, sweat on her forehead, her head pounding in her chest. _Oh, God. What was that about? I need a glass of water…_ She tiptoed past the snoring Papyrus and into the hallway (the door was open). She tiptoed down the stairs (thankfully none of the steps creaked), found her way into the kitchen, and fixed herself a nice glass of water. On her way upstairs, she noticed that the door to Sans’ room was open, and the lights were on. _That’s strange; he never leaves the door open._ She decided to stop by. She poked her head into his room and wrinkled her nose at the smell of trash. “Is everything okay, Sans? I saw the light was on, and…” The skeleton was sitting on his bed, his face buried in his hands. “Hey, are you okay? Is something wrong?”

Sans looked up at her and forced a chuckle. “yeah. can you come in and close the door? there’s something i think you should know about flowey.”

“So you know all about him…” The girl sighed.

  
“the question is...how much do you know about him?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, more kudos! And another comment! I just... *tears up* It's so beautiful...
> 
> OH YES! WE NOW HAVE 15 FABULOUS KUDOS VIEWERS! THIS IS WONDERFUL!
> 
> Maybe I can get more before the next chapter.
> 
> I DOUBT IT, DARLING.
> 
> ...why do you have to be so mean?! *runs away crying*
> 
> OH, GREAT...NOW LOOK WHAT I DID...WAIT, AM I STILL GOING TO HAVE A LARGER ROLE IN THE STORY LATER?!


	7. The Tragedy of Dr. Gaster

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Sans has a heart-to-heart with the girl and reveals some family history. Flowey eavesdrops and leaves a parting gift.

The girl hesitated, then said, “I think I know enough about him...but I also think that there’s more that I should know...or, that you think I should know.”

Sans exhaled. “when i was younger, i really looked up to my dad. i thought he was the greatest. i thought he could do anything. he was the one who taught me how to fight, how to tell good jokes, and how to build machines. he was the one that built the core, which powers our home.” The girl’s eyes widened. He was talking about W.D. Gaster, the former Royal Scientist. Many people had speculated that he was related to Sans and Papyrus, but there was no proof of that.

“Dr. Gaster is your father?” She whispered, hardly daring to believe it.

“yes. so one day i ask him to take me to work, and he says that he will. he takes me to the hotlands and shows me around the core and introduces me to his assistant, alphys. i like it so much that he brings me the next day. and the day after that. and soon, it’s a regular thing.

“one day, the king decides to stop by the core. he brings his two children, asriel and chara, to see the place. i think it was their first time there. anyway, the king left to talk to alphys about something, and my dad is standing pretty close to the edge of the core. like, close enough to fall in if someone pushed him. nobody pushed him. but someone did sneak up behind him and scream at the top of their lungs.”

“Chara?” The girl whispered. Her hand was over her mouth. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. It couldn’t have been Asriel…

Sans shook his head. “chara snuck up. asriel screamed. dad fell.” Sans sighed again. “if asriel hadn’t screamed, then chara would have killed my father anyway. i’m sure of that. i know what happened to asriel...and that he’s that flower now.”

“How could you know that?” The girl asked. “Did he...tell you?”

“yeah, he told me a few times.” Sans clenched a fist. “he’s the one that made me realize that there’s really no point in doing anything if it’s just going to be reset in the blink of an eye. i wanted to die because of him. he took my father from me. he took the purpose of life from me.”

“What happened to Asriel and Chara after the...the thing at the Core?” She girl asked. She wanted to comfort Sans, but wasn’t sure how to.

“nothing,” the skeleton shrugged. “they went back to the palace. they both died a few years later. and then asgore declared war on humanity. i was on his side. do you know what i said to him the next time i saw him?” The girl shook her head.

“I told him that I’d kill every human that crossed my path and bring their SOULS to him.” The girl shivered. Sans was scary when he was serious. “but then, something happened. about a year or so passed, and i kind of met this woman, and...long story short, i promised her that i wouldn’t kill any humans. and you know that i hate to make promises. some time after that, i met a human child. then another. then another. i met six human children and tried to protect them. but they all ended up dead.” He closed his eyes. “no matter how much i’ve tried, it never changes. my dad was killed by the king’s children and i failed to protect six innocent kids. and that flower, flowey, always reminds me of it. that no matter how much i try, it’ll never be enough. i don’t have the power to make a difference. none of us do.”

The girl shook her head. “No, that’s not true.” She placed her hand on Sans’. “I think that...what happened to your dad and to the other humans was beyond your control. Beyond anyone’s control. But what matters is that you’re trying to make a difference.” She smiled a little. “You’re doing your best to influence events...and maybe you are, even if you don’t know it.” Maybe I am, too.

Sans relaxed a little. “my dad was the most powerful guy i knew. i’d always challenge him to fights when i was younger, and he’d always win. he never held back. but one day, after a fight, he asked me if i’d like to learn how to beat him. i told him yes, because i didn’t think he was serious. so he helped me build this weapon. we never finished it together, but i completed it a few years after he died. i’ll never know if it was strong enough to beat him…”

His pupils vanished.

“But I can find out on that flower.”

The girl gasped. “Flowey’s...alive…?”

“yeah. i think he’s following us. he might be after you, ‘cause you have that thing that he needs. or maybe he just wants to mess with me and papyrus. i dunno.”

“But...you can’t kill him!” The girl protested. “H-he doesn’t really know what he’s doing...he’s just confused and upset from being a flower for so long...and from not having a SOUL…”

“why are you so protective of him?”

The girl blushed. “I...I guess I just like to think that there’s still some goodness in him. That Asriel is still there, and his SOUL can be restored.”

“it’s a child’s SOUL.”

“But it’s still a SOUL.” Sans hesitated, then nodded.

“you’re right. but the problem is: he isn’t going to get that SOUL back. ever. because he’s spending his time chasing ours. that’s why i want to get you out of here.”

The girl smiled. “I’ll try to be okay. I have you and Papyrus to protect me, so I don’t think Flowey is really keen on coming after any of us if we stick together.”

Sans let out a good-natured snort. “heh, maybe you’re right.”

“So...could I stay in Snowdin for a while longer…?”

“...meh, what the heck. but if i see that flower, i’m going to hurt him.”

“Isn’t it too cold for a flower to be here?” The girl joked.

* * *

Flowey had managed to tunnel to the interior of the skeletons’ house. I really need to stop doing this. He knew that that pathetic Sans was probably telling the girl all about him, and he wanted to hear the girl’s reaction.

“Flowey’s...alive…?”

“yeah. i think he’s following us. he might be after you, ‘cause you have that thing that he needs. or maybe he just wants to mess with me and papyrus. i dunno.”

_ Brilliant deduction, genius _ , Flowey thought. He rolled his eyes.

“But...you can’t kill him!”

“why are you so protective of him?”

“I...I guess I just like to think that there’s still some goodness in him…”

Flowey had to fight the urge to cackle.  _ Oh, really? Do you REALLY think I would ever want to be friends with YOU? Sorry, my dear, but the only love I have...is the LOVE I earned. _

“...that Asriel is still there, and his SOUL can be restored.”

Flowey stiffened. _Could it be true? Could there really be a way to get me my own SOUL back? ...yeah, and then what? Parade around saying, ‘Look at me, I’m the king’s son!’? And go back to that stupid king and his old hag wife?_ _Yeah, right_. He smirked. The best course of action...the ONLY course of action...would be to become a god. “I’ll show them all the real meaning of Determination. I’ll show them just what my Determination is capable of.”

He pulled himself into the system of tunnels. “I think I’ll move ahead...but I’ll leave them a gift before I go…”

* * *

The girl had fallen asleep in Sans’ room, but the skeleton had carried her back to Papyrus’ room and tucked her into the sleeping bag. The girl had slept quite well, and now she opened her eyes. A ray of light...not sunlight, just light...touched her face through the window. She lifted her hand to shield her eyes from it…

  
...and that’s when she saw that an Echo Flower had been placed next to her pillow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OH MY. WHAT SECRETS COULD HE HAVE TOLD HER WITH THIS ECHO FLOWER?!
> 
> Oh, I don't know~that'll probably have to wait until the next chapter!
> 
> WONDERFUL! THE NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE OUT IN A FEW DAYS!
> 
> Actually, I'm not too sure. I'm going to Cuba next week, and I really need to pack...unless I get more constructive feedback, I don't know if I'll have time to update this story until after the trip!
> 
> BUT. OUR FABULOUS 16 KUDOS REVIEWERS CAN'T WAIT FOR YOU TO RETURN! YOU RETURN...AROUND THE 20TH? THAT'S TOO LONG! I'LL BE OLD THEN!
> 
> Don't worry, I'm never abandoning this story! It's my baby! *cradles this story*


	8. Echo Flowers and...Tsundereflowers?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the girl and Sans get messages from Flowey and Flowey interacts with a certain Monster...

The girl hesitated, then picked up the Echo Flower and smelled it. It didn’t have a particular scent, but...when she inhaled, she could hear a voice.

_ “Oh, that poor Flowey...thank goodness he’s alive. I can befriend him and live happily ever after~” _

The girl felt weak. It was her voice...but then it changed, and she recognized the speaker. It was Flowey.

_ “Not!!! PA. THE. TIC. That’s NOT going to happen, sweetheart. You naive idiot! Wake up! It’s kill or be killed, and I’ll rip your SOUL from your dead body!” _

She yelped and threw the flower across the room. Sans opened the door, and the girl felt her heart leap into her throat when she saw that he was also holding an Echo Flower.

He didn’t say a word. He just handed the flower to the girl. She took a deep breath, then smelled it.

_“You’re not safe. No one is safe. I’ll kill you. I’ll kill your brother, your friends, the girl...I’ll kill EVERYONE. I’ll take all of your SOULS, but first...I’ll teach you the real meaning of a bad time!”_ The girl yelped and ran out of the room. Sans followed her.

"are you ok?"

"I...I guess you were right. Maybe he can't be reasoned with..."

* * *

Flowey cackled to himself as he travelled through his tunnels. “That should have given her a good scare! And a wake up call! If she tries to pull that adorable mercy crap with me, I’ll make sure her death is particularly painful!” He grinned as he pulled himself to the ground above. Then he noticed where he was, and scowled. “Great, the Hotlands...I must have made a wrong turn.”  _ Or maybe I got lost in my thoughts thinking about the girl… _

_ Oh, my god, do I have ANY idea how sappy that sounded?! Ugh! _ He was about to pull himself into the ground and head to his original destination, the Waterfall...but then he felt his leaves shake, the way they always did when he felt like he was being watched. There’s no way SANS could have followed me here, right? He turned around to face...a plane that had been designed by a dork. Planes weren’t supposed to be curvy. Planes weren’t supposed to wear bows. But this one did. It was Tsunderplane, one of the most perplexing Monsters Flowey had ever encountered.

“What are YOU looking at?” He sneered. He didn’t know how to feel about the Tsunderplane. Creeped out? Annoyed? Worried? Disgusted? The Tsunderplane gasped.

“At you, of course! A-a-and not at him!” Flowey followed her gaze to...Aaron?  _ What’s HE doing in the Hotlands?! _

“Flexing contest! ;)” Flowey shuddered. Aaron WAS creepy. He knew that much!

“NO ONE CAN BEAT METTATON IN A FLEXING CONTEST!” Great, that stupid robot was there, too. Flowey decided to linger and watch the competition, just for the sake of killing time. The contest ended in a stalemate because Aaron flexed himself out of the room. Mettaton gloated about his victory to a non-existent audience before he departed. Flowey noticed the Tsunderplane was looking uncomfortable, and decided to have fun with her.

“Why are you wasting your time with him?” He smirked. The female Monster gasped.

“Baka! I’m not watching him...I’m...observing him! For...reasons that will matter in the long run! I don’t even care about him! I don’t care about anyone! I don’t need anyone!”

“And he’d probably reject you if you knew how you felt, anyway,” Flowey continued. “After all, he’s so perfect, isn’t he? And you’re not! And there’s nothing you can do about it!” This was very cruel of him to say, even by his standards, and the Tsunderplane was trembling with rage.

“I...I guess you know what it’s like, then, to want something unattainable!” She shouted. She flew off at a record speed. Flowey stretched his face into a grin...but he had no joy behind it. For some reason, he felt...stung by her retort.  _ Why? There’s no truth to it! _

. _..right? _

He tapped one of his leaves against his face as he thought. “What do I want that is unattainable?” SOULS? Please, he could have those practically whenever he wanted! His true form? No, that would come once he gained control over the SOULS.

_ “After all, he’s so perfect, isn’t he? _ ” His own mocking words came back to haunt him, and Flowey considered them carefully. Did he say them because...he really did have...ick...feelings...in common with Tsunderplane? Not for Aaron, of course.  _ OH, HELL NO. _ Flowey gagged at the thought! Then, for who…?

The girl flashed into his thoughts, and he hesitated. Feelings for a human? He didn’t know. He barely felt anything towards Monsters...and the only human he could care about was Chara, someone that he didn’t want to be brought back to life, only for the sake of his own power. “But she’s not perfect!” Far from it! He thought back to her eyes and her skin, and scowled. There! Two things that weren’t perfect, right off the top of his head! And she was so...nice! Even worse than Frisk!

But then the positive things flashed into his mind. She WAS pretty for a human, especially her hair. And she did seem...less annoying than literally everyone else Flowey knew. “Well, that’s probably because she’s a new face,” he said aloud. “I can get tired of her...just like the others…”

_ “Something unattainable…” _ Flowey narrowed his eyes. Since when was ANYTHING unattainable for him? He was the Prince of the Monsters, heir to the Underground’s throne! He could have anything he wanted! “Not that I want the girl,” he said, just to reassure himself. “But if I did, I could have her!” He shook his head. “I need to focus on my plan.” Get the SOULS. Build a stronger barrier and keep Frisk...and Chara...from messing with this timeline. With the SOULS, destroy Sans. Rule over the Underground. Live happily ever after.

He sighed. “What’s the point if I can’t gloat about my victory to anyone?” Hmm...maybe that’s how the girl factored in…? This would require more observation.

  
“I’m not watching him...I’m...observing him! For...reasons that will matter in the long run! I don’t even care about him! I don’t care about anyone! I don’t need anyone!” Flowey gasped as the Tsundereplane’s lies repeated in his mind. What she had said sounded exactly like something he would think or say. “Oh, God...am I a tsundere?! ...what is a tsundere, anyway?” _Maybe I'll take another detour and do some research on the subject...and I know just where to go for answers..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LOOK AT THOSE KUDOS REVIEWERS! THIS IS THE MOST WE'VE EVER HAD! 24! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!
> 
> I know, right? ;)
> 
> "Thank you, Mettaton and Aaron...wait...AARON?! How did you get here?!"
> 
> I know you love me~ ;)
> 
> "Oh God." *draws a line on the ground* "Aaron. Do not cross this line. You are creepy."
> 
> But what if my muscles bring more kudos~? ;)
> 
> "...just don't cross the line."
> 
> DON'T YOU HAVE AN ANNOUNCEMENT, LULU?
> 
> "Oh, yes, thank you, Mettaton! *ahem* This is the last chapter for about a week. I'm leaving for Cuba on Sunday, and I won't have access to my computer until I return. But I return on Sunday, March 20th, and I have that Friday off of school, so I will try to have a chapter up by that time! Thank you all so much for your kudos, it really means the world to me! Please, please, PLEASE don't be afraid to leave suggestions, comments, complaints, recipes, ect. in a comment on this story!"


	9. Kuudereflower...And then Something Completely Different.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Flowey realizes he's a kuudere, not a tsundere, and...something else happens to the girl.
> 
> I've been looking forward to writing this chapter and the ones that follow for a loooooooooooong time~ ;)
> 
> Oh, God! Aaron is rubbing off on me! EW! *goes to shower*

Flowey propped himself up by the window and peered into the lab. Alphys was there, no shock, but Undyne was with her.  _ Are they on a date? _ The two were sitting in front of the television set, deep in conversation. Flowey pressed himself against the window, trying to make out what they were saying. Their voices were muffled, but Alphys’ voice was nasally enough for him to hear what she was saying. And Undyne had such a deep, booming voice...monsters probably could hear her over in the Temmie Village.

“So, what’s this new anime called?” Undyne asked.

“ _Shadow Demon Monster-Zombie Love Affair_ ,” Alphys replied. She held a DVD case in one of her clawed hands. “Basically it’s about this human kingdom and this monster kingdom and the monsters are called Shadow Demon Monster-Zombies and they’re at war with the humans but the leader of the humans falls in love with the leader of the Shadow Demon Monster-Zombies but they can’t admit it but it’s very heartwarming and I REALLY REALLY think you’d like it!” She said in one breath.

Flowey blinked.  _ That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard. She actually watches that crap? _

“So...it’s a love story?” Undyne scrunched her face up.

“Yeah, but it’s got a kuudere in it because the Shadow Demon Monster-Zombies aren’t supposed to have emotions!” Alphys explained.

“I thought that was a tsundere?” Undyne seemed confused. Flowey was paying close attention to Alphys’ every word. He was finally getting some answers!

“No, tsunderes pretend to be all tough and mean, but they’re sweeties deep down! Kuuderes literally aren’t supposed to feel ANYTHING! They’re totally heartless! Which is why it’s so much better when they finally admit their love!”

“So...are they both yanderes and senpais?” Undyne asked. Alphys sighed.

“Not every anime character is a yandere, Undyne. A yandere has to be mentally unstable for her...or his...senpai!”

“Ugh, whatever, I don’t even care anymore! Let’s just watch this!” The fish monster huffed. She was trying to disguise her enjoyment. Flowey smirked.  _ If I’m not mistaken, that’s some tsundere behavior right there...I’ll have to use this later. _

Flowey spent some time watching the infantile cartoon. Only one part caught his attention: the part with the Shadow Demon Monster-Zombie king. There was one scene with the character sitting in a dark, but beautifully furnished room, speaking about his female human counterpart. “I feel nothing for her. I’m only watching her because she’ll be important in the long run. It’s not just my world I’ll rule over. It’s hers, too.”

Flowey felt relief wash over him. “I’m not a tsundere! I’m a kuudere!” Emotionless and cold! Just the way he liked it! The funny feeling he had felt during his first encounter with the girl suddenly returned to him, but he shook it off. “She’s important to me in the long run!” He knew why now! He was going to keep her alive so he’d have someone to gloat to about his victory once he became godlike.

A beeping sound came from within the lab, and Undyne leapt to her feet with a gasp. “Holy crap, I totally forgot about the training session with Papyrus! Alphys, can I come by later? Um...I mean...I can come by later, if you want.”

“O-of c-course, Undyne,” Alphys stammered. She always had a nervous stutter, but it became very prominent when Undyne wanted to spend time alone with her.

“Cool, I guess,” Undyne shrugged. “Gotta go, see you soon!” She speed-walked out of the lab, and Flowey pulled himself back to the ground, watching the fish lady. “YES!” She shouted and fist-pumped. “She wants me to come back! YES!” She pulled out her cell phone from the breastplate of her armor, pressed a few buttons, and then held the phone to her ear. “Yo, Papyrus, what’s happening? Are you at my house? ...great! ...do you have the human, too?”

Flowey slapped his leaves to his mouth to keep himself from gasping.  _ Which human?! _

“...okay, cool! And you’re sure we can’t use her SOUL? Why, exactly? ...wait, are you even sure it’s a girl? ...well, maybe she...I mean it...is lying! ...well...it doesn’t matter. We still need a SOUL...wait, what?! What do you mean, she doesn’t know how to fight?! UGH!” Undyne hung up and grumbled as she kicked at some dirt. “Unbelievable! I can’t fight a human who doesn’t know how to fight!” She stomped off in the direction of the ferry. Flowey entered his system of tunnels.  _ I’ll beat her to her own house! I have to make sure nothing happens to my future prisoner! _

* * *

Undyne had a lovely home, but the girl couldn’t relax. “WHY ARE YOU HIDING IN THE SHADOWS?” Papyrus asked as he and his brother walked to Undyne’s front door. The girl was approaching the building, too, but at a much slower rate.

“I don’t want it to see me,” she whispered.

“WHO?”

“The dummy!” The girl was terrified of the Mad Dummy that lived and worked at Undyne’s home. The dummy was possessed by an insanely powerful ghost, and the girl did not want to anger the dummy at all.

Sans snorted. “i don’t think he’s here tonight. at least, i don’t see him.”

“AND HERE COMES UNDYNE! UNDYNE! UNDYNE! WE’RE OVER HERE!” Papyrus shouted as he waved at an approaching figure. The girl gulped. It really WAS Undyne!  _ Thank God she’s not wearing her armor...she’s even more intimidating when she wears it! _

“Hey, you’re the human, right?” The fish lady monster greeted. “Hey, Sans! Hi, Papyrus!”

“Please don’t kill me!” The girl blurted in response. Undyne raised an eyebrow.

“Whoa! Papyrus, what have you been telling her about me?”

“NOTHING. NOTHING! I DEFINITELY HAVEN’T MENTIONED THAT YOU WANT TO TAKE HUMAN SOULS AND GIVE THEM TO KING ASGORE!”

“But I already knew that!” The girl interrupted. Undyne’s eye twitched.

“Should we go inside?” The fish monster grabbed the girl’s wrist in an iron grip and all but dragged her inside. The skeleton brothers followed them. They were grinning.

“Why are you two so happy?” The girl asked. She was very concerned because the two actually seemed to be in on a joke together!

“oh, it’s nothing…”

“YOU TWO ARE GOING TO BE BEST FRIENDS!” Papyrus declared. The girl began to panic.

“Hey, to be honest, I’m not really familiar with this whole ‘friendship’ thing,” Undyne admitted. Her grip didn’t loosen at all. “So...I thought I’d bring over some help.” She opened the door to her house, and…

Oh, God, no. No. Nononono. NO. No way this was happening. Nope. Not happening.

Mad Dummy. Regular Dummy. Napstablook. They were ALL inside.

“Okay, so...this wasn’t my idea. But Papyrus thought that they could use some more friends, too, and invited them over…”

_ Well, things can’t get any worse… _

“OOH YES! THE METTATON HAS ARRIVED!” The girl felt her cheeks burn.

_ Fuck. My. Life. _

* * *

From his spot by the window, Flowey began to tremble. “What. The. FUCK?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OOOOOOOOOOOOOOH YEEEEEEEEEEEEESSS. I HAVE FINALLY MADE MY REAL GRAND DEBUT INTO THE STORY! THE KUDOS SHALL INCREASE LIKE CRAZY!
> 
> "I hope this chapter was worth the wait!"
> 
> "Ooh, I think it was~ ;)"
> 
> "AARON GET OUUUUUUUUUUUUT!"
> 
> BY THE WAY, LULU, THAT WAS A BRILLIANT NAME FOR THE ANIME.
> 
> "Oh, Mettaton, do you really think so?"
> 
> NOPE.
> 
> "...I knew it...I'll just go back to Cuba..."
> 
> NO! OUR KUDOS REVIEWERS WILL DIE WITHOUT YOU!
> 
> "Oh, now you're just sucking up to me!"
> 
> ...MAYBE.
> 
> "Ugh! Well, as always...leave a comment if you want. Or kudos! Kudos is good! And in the next chapter: ULTIMATE UNDERTALE SLEEPOVER SHENANIGANS!"


	10. hOIstery of tEM!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> hOI! i'm tEMMIE!

hOI! i'm tEMMIE!

us tems have a rich histry. lon gago, us tems lived wit da HUMANS! SUCH A CUUUUUUUUUUTES! but wen da war brock out b tween da HUMANS, us tems had to...HIDE!!! us tems were...SO SAD!!!!!!1111!!!!! be cuz no moar humans could be fRIENDS!!! we ran to the mountem and went dooooown to...da tem village!!! we had helps from...DA TEM DRAGUN!

dragun was nice! help tEMs to...cross river! then came...RIVER HUMAN!!! river human help, but tEMs always remembur da tEM dragun!!! dragun get...PRETTY PICTURE! in TEM village square!!111

us tEMS adopted...human custems! include...PARENTHOOD!!!!!!! us tEMS hatch from eggs and make tEMS...PROUD PARENTS!!! eggs hatch with luv and tem flakes!! all tems LOVE tem flakes be cuz they make us COOT! but muscles r...NOT CUTE!!! NOOOOO!!!!!!!!

fjjhkahsjopjfjuhuihefahpfneafhughfjlkfhsj

but humans are OMG SO CUTE!!! but...sum tEMS have allergies!!! make them break out in hOIves!!! can't be wif HUMMANS!11 SO SAAAAAAD

us tEMS have a porpoise in life: to go to cool legs and sell new itEMs! lik...TEM ARMOR!! so strong!!! mak u prouds!!!! but is expensive and tems need muns...

GASSSSSSP

us tEMS have a...a solushion!!

us tEMS will get a...loan from...da tEM dragun!!!!!

BORROW MUNS AND MAKE U'S PROUDDDSSSS

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *facedesk* I'm so, so, so sorry for this...I regret everything...
> 
> In all seriousness, I didn't think about doing an April Fool's Chapter until I was halfway done with the next chapter. And then my mind went, "IDEA~"
> 
> AND YOU LISTENED?
> 
> GO AWAY METTATON! Anywho~
> 
> I hope you enjoyed some late April Fool's Day silliness, and a large dose of Temmie! The next chapter will be up tomorrow (or later tonight)! Thank you all so much for your kudos and comments, I love you guys so much!!


	11. Ultimate Undertale Sleepover Story!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the ultimate sleepover happens. Need I say more?

_ Oh, God. Okay. Okay, don’t panic. Oh, God, I’m panicking. Okay, relax. You can handle this. It’s okay. _ The girl tried to think these thoughts as the reality of the situation dawned upon her. But then she looked at Mettaton, and…

_ Oh, no. No. No. NO. I can’t! He’s in his Mettaton Ex form!  _ The panic overwhelmed her. Mettaton…

At first, she had loathed Mettaton with every part of her being for his persistent attacks against Frisk. But as she continued to observe the Underground, she learned the truth: Alphys was using Mettaton as a pawn in a scheme that would boost her self esteem.

She also learned that Mettaton had the sexiest voice...after hearing it just once, she joined his fan club.

And now he was here. In the flesh...well, the metal and magic. _I. Can’t. Handle._ This. She was about to excuse herself and make a mad dash from Undyne’s house, but then Papyrus spoke.

“I BROUGHT GAMES! WE CAN PLAY MONOPOLY, THE GAME OF LIFE, SPIN THE BOTTLE…”

“NO!” The girl, Alphys, and Undyne shouted in unison at the mention of the last one. Papyrus didn’t seem upset by their lack of enthusiasm. But before he could speak, Undyne turned to Blooky. “You live next door, right?”

“well, yeah……..”

“Is that your music I hear at night?”

“um, yes, it is...i can turn it down if you want…..i didn’t want to disturb you…….i’m sorry………..”

“Great. Great! GREAT!!!!! NOW you’ve hurt his feelings!” Mad Dummy interrupted, glaring at Undyne. “I hope you’re proud of yourself!”

“No, no, no, I wasn’t complaining!” Undyne said hastily. “I like the music! It’s...unique. I think it’s really cool!”

“aw, really, do you think so…..?” Blooky perked up a little.

“Yeah! If I didn’t like it, I would have told you by now!” Undyne winked. Blooky managed a small chuckle.

“heh...gee, thanks……….that’s one of the nicest things anyone has ever said to me……”

The girl relaxed.  _ Okay, Blooky is happy. Which means that Mad Dummy is happy, which means he won’t explode or bite my head off. And...Regular Dummy is Regular Dummy. Maybe I can make it through tonight after all… _

* * *

“There’s no way I’m gonna make it through tonight!” Flowey fumed as he paced back and forth in the dirt, creating a perfect linear line in the ground. Mettaton was there. Of all the Monsters in the Underground...METTATON had to be there. “He doesn’t even...he’s not allowed to...he’s not worthy of speaking to those who I deem worthy of surviving when I become God!” Flowey harrumphed. Focus, Flowey, focus… “What would HE even talk to HER about?” Flowey wondered. He approached the house again and peeped through the window.

They were playing Monopoly and eating popcorn. A few minutes ago, they had been in the middle of a pillow fight. Before that, they watched anime. The whole time, the girl sneaked glances at Mettaton. Ugh, she was doing it again! “Why is she looking at him like that?!” Oh, who was he kidding? It was a stupid question! Mettaton was handsome and charismatic. He could have any Monster he wanted wrapped around his finger! And the girl had fallen for his charms and was smitten with him! “It’ll have to change soon,” Flowey told himself. “I can’t afford a prisoner who is too distracted by another Monster to pay attention to me.” He blinked. “That’s not very kuudere of me to say...I mean, I don’t care in the long run, because I’ll destroy Mettaton. And I don’t care how she feels about that. Wait...now what are they doing?” One of the dummies appeared to be arguing with that fish lady…

“It IS my turn! You liar!!!”

“Don’t you dare accuse me of lying when you’re in MY HOUSE!”

“WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT?”

“I’LL KICK YOUR ASS!”

“YOU CAN’T HURT ME!”

“WANNA BET?!”

“HEY, I KNOW, WHY DON’T WE PLAY SOMETHING ELSE?” Papyrus suggested. A bead of sweat had appeared on his scalp. The girl shot him a grateful smile.

“That’s a wonderful idea!”

Outside, Flowey flinched when the girl had finished her sentence. “Why does she keep using MY lines?!” It almost felt like...she was connected to him somehow...and that bothered him. He didn’t want any connections. He had severed all ties to Toriel and Asgore after he accepted that he could no longer feel good emotions. And the idea of being connected to anyone else disgusted him. I’m going to be God. Why should I be tied to someone beneath me? “And I certainly don’t want to have a real connection with my prisoner, do I?” He glanced at the girl...and then his eyes nearly popped out of his little flower head. “Oh, no…”

“Truth...or dare…?” Some of the party guests (Blooky and the two Dummies) were already asleep on the ground. But those who were still awake had formed a circle and were now playing the dreaded Truth or Dare. The girl stared at Sans, a wide smirk on her face.

“truth.”

“Are you sure? Because this is a REALLY serious one,” she giggled.

“yeah, i can handle it.”

“Okay...did you ever date Alphys?”

“OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH~” Papyrus said in a teasing fashion. “SHE WENT THERE!” Sans and Alphys blushed.

“H-h-how d-d-did you know?!” The scientist stammered.

“Answer the question, Sans~” The girl giggled.

“yeah.”

“OH MY GOD, I KNEW IT!” Papyrus shouted. The girl squeed and buried her face in a pillow that Undyne had given her.

“I need details!!” She pressed. Undyne sat perfectly still.

“I-it was only o-one time!” Alphys groaned. She also buried her face in a pillow.

“it was dinner and a movie, and we agreed to be friends afterwards. is it my turn?” Sans asked. He seemed surprisingly serious about answering the question.

“NO! NO! ME NEXT! ME NEXT! ME ME ME ME ME ME ME MEEEEE!” Papyrus shouted, waving his arm around in the air like a child in school. “UNDYNE! TRUTH OR DARE?!”

“Dare,” the Monster grinned. “Give it your best shot!”

Flowey blinked. “Wait...they’re standing up...they’re leaving...oh, FUCK! THEY’RE LEAVING!” He hopped down from his place at the window and hid himself in the ground. Mettaton, the skeleton brothers, the scientist, the fish monster, and the girl were leaving their own party! _Where are they going?! What are they up to?!_

* * *

 

_ Ten minutes later… _

“Oh, no…” Flowey hissed. “Not here...anywhere but here!”

“I DARE YOU…” Papyrus said to Undyne. “...TO SPEND TEN MINUTES ALONE IN THERE.”

“Oh, Papyrus, please, not this…” Undyne begged. She was actually begging!! “Anything but this! ANYTHING!”

“NOPE! I GUESS YOU’RE NOT UP TO THE CHALLENGE!”

“Pfff. I can handle it! Whatever!” Undyne stomped inside....into….

da tEM village….

* * *

_  
tEM more minutes later… _

Undyne ran from the village, screaming her head off. The girl and the skeleton brothers were doubled over, clutching their sides, howling with laughter. They could hardly believe she had done it! She had actually accepted Papyrus’ challenge to spend ten minutes alone in the Temmie Village! Undyne reached the group of friends and collapsed on the ground, panting. In the distance, the girl could hear this shout:

“MUSCLES R...NOT CUTE!!!!”

“DON’T FEEL BAD, DARLING, THEY SAID THE SAME THING ABOUT MY LEGS,” Mettaton comforted. Undyne got to her feet and brushed the dirt off her clothes.

“I-I-I don’t even k-know what a t-temmie looks like,” Alphys admitted. Mettaton gasped.

“OH MY STARS, DARLING, ARE YOU SERIOUS? THEY’RE ABSOLUTELY ADORABLE, EVEN IF THEY AREN’T IN MY FAN CLUB!” Mettaton gasped. “WAIT A MOMENT, I’LL BE BACK!” He walked into the Temmie Village and returned a few moments later with a temmie in his arms.

“Awww, so cute~” The girl cooed. The temmie gasped.

“hOI! i’m tEMMIE! OMG AWAWAWA A HUMAN SO CUUTE!”

Off to the side, Flowey gagged. Temmies were a waste of space! How many had he killed…? He’d lost track. He watched the girl pet the temmie and cover it with kisses. _Oh, that’s disgusting!! How could anyone find that idiotic creature precious?!_

“Can we go now?!” Undyne whined after about five minutes of TLC between the girl and temmie. The girl nodded and placed the temmie down. The temmie wandered off to the village.

“So cute~” The girl gushed for about the fiftieth time. The group departed, and Flowey followed them closely. _Thank GOD that’s over…_

“HEY, WHEN WE GET BACK, CAN I HAVE MY TURN?” Mettaton asked.

“why don’t you have it now?” Sans suggested. “i was going to read papy his bedtime story when we got back.”

“OKAY, I’LL GO NOW! ALPHYS, TRUTH OR DARE?”

“T-truth!”

“WHO IS YOUR SECRET CRUSH? I NEED TO KEEP THIS DATA FOR FUTURE REASONS!”

Alphys and Undyne gasped. “U-uh, w-w-well, I-I...y-you see, I...um…”

“OH LOOK! We’re at my house!” Undyne announced. Her voice was a little louder than usual, but the girl didn’t notice. She was preoccupied by a burning sensation in her throat.

“I don’t feel so well…” She announced. Mettaton glanced at her, frowned, and placed his hand on her forehead. The cool metal against her hot skin felt so nice…

“YOU FEEL WARM, DARLING. MAYBE YOU SHOULD LIE DOWN?”

“I’ll make some tea,” Undyne offered.

“i’ll get papyrus ready for bed.”

“BUT I’M NOT SLEEPY!”

“let me read you your story.”

“OKAY…”

Flowey was hiding behind a rock. He rolled his eyes at their conversations. _Whatever. They’re so immature and stupid. I can’t WAIT to show them the real meaning of this world._ “I think I would like some tea,” the girl continued. “I don’t know what’s happening to me…”

“M-maybe it’s an allergic r-reaction?” Alphys suggested.

“To what?”

“Um...I-I think that temmies have an allergic reaction to humans...a-and it’s p-possible that maybe humans are allergic to temmies…”

The girl groaned. “Ugh…”

“I think some tea will fix most of the damage,” Undyne said with a smile. “And some rest.”

“true that,” Sans yawned.

“You’re always sleepy,” the girl teased, but she also yawned. The group entered the house. By the time Flowey had made his way to his spying spot at the window, Mettaton was recharging his batteries (the robot equivalent of sleep) and Alphys was asleep. She snored. Papyrus was tucked into his sleeping bag, and Sans was reading to him. Flowey watched the girl crawl into one of Undyne’s spare sleeping bags, and it suddenly dawned upon him that he hadn’t slept in quite a while. He used a leaf to stifle a yawn, and he closed his eyes.  _ Just a few minutes can’t hurt… _

* * *

_“Hey, Chara?”_

_ “What is it, dear brother?” _

_ “I was wondering...what’s it like to be in love?” _

_ “Why in the world would you ask me that question?” _

_ “Some big kids at school were talking about it, and I was wondering if you knew what it was like. Were you ever in love back when you lived with the humans?” _

_ “No, my brother. I learned a long time ago how to cut that emotion from my thoughts. I don’t need a significant other. All I need is you. We’re best friends, siblings, and we’ll be together forever, won’t we?” _

_ “Yeah, totally!” _

_ “But what about you? Do you think that you’ll be in love one day?” _

_ “Eeeewwww, girls are yucky!” _

_ “You say that now, but everything will change when you get older. You might someone you like more than me. And then you’ll have to decide what’s more important: our friendship, or a flimsy connection you have with someone you don’t know, someone you’ll learn to hate? The future of Monsters and humans, or the happiness of a single person?” _

_ “....Chara, you’re doing it again…” _

_ “Doing what, dear brother?” _

_ “That creepy face! S-stop it!” _

_ “You’ll have to decide who is more important. Me, your best friend...or someone you don’t even know yet? A stranger.” _

_ “Q-quit making that face!” _

_ “Choose wisely.” _

* * *

The girl shot up in her sleeping bag. She was drenched in sweat, and it had nothing to do with her allergic reaction to the temmie. She was terrified. _Why am I having these dreams?!_ She waited, trembling, for her eyes to adjust to the darkness and her surroundings. Everyone else appeared to be asleep. She stood up on shaky legs and moved with the utmost care towards the front door. She stumbled into Undyne’s front yard...then collapsed on the ground.

“uh, we’re supposed to be sleeping inside,” an all-too-familiar voice came from behind her. She forced herself to sit up and turned to face Sans.

“I thought you were asleep...did I wake you? I’m sorry…”

“nah, i’m a light sleeper,” the skeleton shrugged. “y’know, i never did get my turn at truth or dare tonight. mind if i go ahead now?”

“Um, sure, I guess?” The girl shrugged. Talking to Sans was helping her recover from the bizarre dream experience. “Oh, before you ask...truth. I’m not really up for a dare.”

“that’s perfect, because i wanted to ask you something.”

“Go for it.”

  
“have you been having strange dreams since you came to the underground?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> PHEW, this chapter was a LONG one! I hope it was worth the wait!
> 
> Thanks for the kudos and comments, now I'm going to bed! See you all with the next chapter, which should bring...an explanation about the dreams! *insert dramatic music here* Oh, Mettaton, you can leave time-out now.
> 
> What about me~? ;)
> 
> NOPE. NOT YOU AARON!


	12. Connections and Declarations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the girl and Flowey learn from Sans that they may already be bonded, a declaration is made, and Flowey sets his sights on another target...

Flowey jolted awake. He felt moisture on his petals, and realized that he was sweating for the first time in a long time. “I’ve never really sweat as a flower, have I?” He asked himself with a wry smile. The smile faded as he recalled the voices from his dream. He hadn’t really dreamed as a flower...but now…

The dream took him back to that memory. He couldn’t see the visuals in the dream, but he could see them in his memory. He and Chara had been playing in the garden, talking about grown-up matters. That garden was where they planned to take Chara’s SOUL and go to the humans. It was where Chara made Asriel swear to never tell the truth to outsiders about Gaster’s death.

Flowey was deep in his thoughts when low, whispered voices pulled him back to reality. He peeked from his hiding spot to the front lawn, and saw Sans and that girl engaged in a conversation. He could barely make out the words.

“that’s perfect, because i wanted to ask you something.”

“Go for it.”

“have you been having strange dreams since you came to the underground?”

“How did you know?” He could hear the surprise in her tone.

“when humans enter the underground, they tend to establish a mental link with the person closest to them. i don’t know how it works...alphys tried to explain it, but she gave up after a few minutes.”

The girl nodded. “That...makes sense…” It really, really did. After all, Chara and Frisk had a bond that allowed Chara to possess Frisk’s body. And she remembered that Frisk could see Chara’s memories when they slept...and now she was doing the same with whoever she had bonded with. 

* * *

Flowey’s eyes narrowed as he stared at the skeleton. He remembered now…

When Chara entered the Underground for the first time, there were some nights when they had strange dreams...dreams that Asriel had been having. That transitioned into memories and, eventually, a deeper mental bond. They could almost tell what the other was thinking. Of course, they had been siblings, so maybe that helped…

The bond was shattered when Chara and Asriel died. When Flowey emerged, he had no link to Chara.

* * *

“so...if you don’t mind me asking, who have you bonded with?” Sans asked.

“I...I don’t really know...it’s either Asr...Flowey, or...Chara…” She bit her lip. “But...I can’t have a bond with Chara, can I? I don’t have Determination like Frisk does!”

“look...if you’re bonded with that flower, he’s gonna say things to trick you...you need to ignore him and whatever he puts in your head.” Flowey snorted.  _ Oh, please, do you think I WANT this bond? Do you think I want HER to know MY past? No. No, I don’t.  _ He slapped his leaves to his mouth when a gasp threatened to escape him.  _ Oh, God, I bonded with HER?! Ugh. I don’t want a connection with the future prisoner! _

The girl took a deep breath, then admitted, “...it’s hard for me to do...ignore him, I mean...because I think I’m really in love with him.”

Sans’ grin faded. “why do you think that?”

“I just...well...I…” The girl blushed. “It’s complicated...and I know I shouldn’t. He’s SOULless and wants to kill us...but the goodness that I like to think lives within him...within what remains of his SOUL...that’s what I love.” She left out how entrancing she found him to be in any form. Photoshop Flowey was frightening, yet full of confidence and power that lingered in her mind. Asriel’s adult form was sexy. There was no other way to put it.

Sans’ pupils shrank into oblivion. “That part of him died with my father and it dies a little more every time he kills somebody else.”

“I don’t know...there could be more to it than that…” She sighed. “I don’t know anymore. I just don’t know. But…” She bit her lip. “I guess I feel sorry for him, too.”

Sans’ pupils didn’t return. “Why?”

“No matter what happens in every timeline...no matter what happens to Chara and Frisk...Asriel always loses.” She sniffled. “No matter what happens, he can’t have his happily ever after. He’ll either die or be trapped as a flower.”

“not everyone deserves a happy ending,” Sans muttered.

Flowey trembled. That unknown feeling was back…the feeling that he’d encountered when he first met the girl and when he first realized he was a kuudere. It was pleasant to him, but it also hurt...he tried to shake it off, but the more he thought of the girl’s words, the stronger the feeling became.  _ “I think I’m really in love with him…” _

_ “No, I need to remember. I don’t care. I don’t care about how she feels, what she thinks, who she interacts with…” _

“HEY, WHAT ARE YOU TWO DOING OUT HERE?”

_ Except for him!!! _

“Mettaton, hush, we’re just about to go back inside,” the girl hissed.

“OKAY. BEFORE THAT HAPPENS, I WANTED TO ASK YOU SOMETHING, DARLING. IT’S A SMALL FAVOR.”

“Um...I can do my best…?”

“COULD YOU HELP ME WITH A SCRIPT READING TOMORROW? MY NEXT MUSICAL SHOULD BE ABOUT A HUMAN AND THEIR INTERACTIONS WITH, WELL, ME, AND I’D LIKE TO HAVE A REAL HUMAN DO A TEST RUN WITH ME.”

“I’ll try...but I’m not an actress…”

“WHATEVER, DARLING, JUST READ THE LINES.”

“let’s try to sleep, though,” Sans interrupted with a loud yawn. The girl also yawned.

“Yeah…” Sans made his way inside before the other two, but when the girl started to follow him, Mettaton put his arm out, stopping her. Flowey flinched.  _ Don’t. Touch. Her. _

“EVERYTHING ALRIGHT, BEAUTIFUL?”

The girl blushed, and Flowey scowled. “Yeah...I just had a weird dream, and Sans couldn’t sleep, so I talked to him about it. I’m okay.”

“WELL, I’M HERE IF YOU NEED TO TALK,” Mettaton said with his metta-smile, and the girl blushed again as she followed him inside.

* * *

Flowey remained full of anger. _I don’t know why I feel this...this strongly, but I do know that I’m going to take that robot’s SOUL and he’s never going to get it back. It won’t be like in other timelines. He won’t escape me. I’m going to get his SOUL._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Okay, everyone, I have an announcement to make! I've been putting a lot of work into this, and I think I have the rest of the story almost completely mapped out, complete with an epilogue and..."
> 
> PAUSE FOR DRAMATIC EFFECT!
> 
> "...a prequel/sequel about..."
> 
> OH! MY! GOODNESS! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!
> 
> "...Gaster!"
> 
> GASP! OH, MY STARS! DO YOU MEAN IT?!
> 
> "I mean every word of it!"
> 
> OH, WOW! CAN OUR 34 KUDOS VIEWERS HANDLE IT?!
> 
> "Well, I do have something to share...I love my kudos fans so much, and I love this story so much...so when I get five more kudos viewers, I'll leave a detail about the next story!"
> 
> ARE YOU BLACKMAILING THEM?
> 
> "No! It's just an incentive to leave feedback. I'll also treat comments as kudos, too! Because I think I literally only have three people or less leaving comments on this story!"
> 
> WHATEVER, DARLING, YOU'RE TOTALLY DRAMATIC. ANYWHO~STAY TUNED FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER, BEAUTIES AND GENTLEBEAUTIES~


	13. Kuudere to Yandere

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> PLEASE READ
> 
> If you see a ;) at the start of a section, that means that naughty stuff is happening. The next ;) shows when it ends. (But something tells me that a lot of you are going to read it, anyway...I know I do. XD)
> 
> Anyway, onto the chapter summary:
> 
> In which Flowey finally stops being a kuudere, the girl acts out her dare with Mettaton, and Flowey sets his plan into action...

;)

He was Flowey and he was teasing her.

Dexterous leaves twisted the buttons of her jeans before stripping them entirely from her legs…

Long vines wrapped around her body, squeezing her tighter and tighter and building pressure in her womanhood, a pressure that was painful and pleasant, a pressure she had to release…

He was Asriel and he was making love to her.

He held her down with his strong hands as he moved in and out of her. Her hands gripped his long, slender horns for support, and he could see the sweat glisten on her forehead as the pressure built inside them both, until finally…

;)

* * *

 

He jerked awake.  _ Fucking shit fuck! Curse these hormonal Monster feelings!! Why are they so strong when SHE’S near?! _ He reclined against the wall of his hiding place, relaxing. He’d had...dreams and fantasies before, but nothing like this. He took a deep breath and peered through the window. The girl was sitting up in her sleeping place, talking to...ugh, Mettaton. _Why are her cheeks so red?!_

* * *

 

The girl jerked awake when a cold finger tapped on her shoulder, bringing her back to the real world. “GAH!”

“OH, BE QUIET, GORGEOUS. THE OTHERS ARE STILL SLEEPING.” Mettaton, still in his Ex form, folded his arms and tapped his foot. “WHY IS YOUR FACE SO RED? HAVE YOU BEEN CRYING?”

“Crying?! No, it’s...it’s just...it’s warm in here, isn’t it?” The girl forced a nervous laugh. She was hoping that robots couldn’t read minds. Because if they could, then he’d be able to see all of the dirty dreams…

Oh, God. She didn’t want that.

“ANYWHO, ARE YOU READY TO HELP ME PRACTICE MY SCRIPT?”

“O-of course!” The girl grinned. “Uh, are we going somewhere more private? I don’t want to wake them up…” And I don’t want to perform in front of a large crowd! I have stage fright!

“YES, WE’RE GOING OUTSIDE!” He grabbed her wrist and pulled her to her feet. He navigated her through the room of sleeping Monsters, taking the utmost care not to wake them. They reached the door and he pulled her outside.

* * *

Flowey peered around the side of the house and gazed at the two figures in the front lawn. And froze in shock.

She was in his arms.

“OH? THAT HUMAN...COULD IT BE MY ONE TRUE LOVE?”

“Oh, won’t some brave, handsome Monster, preferably one made of metal and magic, save me?” She asked, fluttering her eyelashes.

Flowey was shaking with rage, and he had no idea why.  _ What is this feeling?! Make it stop! _ He didn’t know why...but he hated the sight of that Mettaton locked in an embrace with his girl!

_...my girl…? _

Flowey gasped as the truth finally hit him at full force. No wonder he’d been so emotional lately.  _ I...I CARE about her. I actually care… _

_...but why? _

_ Why indeed…? She’s nothing special. She’s a HUMAN. She’s not even really part of my plan. I’m the Prince of the Underworld. The Prince of the Monsters! _

_...Prince of the Monsters...but not of the humans… _

Flowey’s face stretched in a grin.  _ An alliance between humans and Monsters… _ Although he hated to admit this, even to himself, the girl had been right. He really and truly didn’t want to erase the world. There was a primal part of Flowey that wanted the world and all of the inhabitants to live. The things that were truly satisfying to him were watching Frisk live in a world where their friends didn’t remember them...taking his rightful place as a God and ruling over the Monsters...and humans.

_ A Monster King...with a human Queen...has a certain ring to it, I think… _

Flowey could see it all. First, he’d take the six SOULS and every SOUL of the Monsters! With this power, he’d destroy the barrier and search for Frisk! Once he had Frisk, he’d steal their SOUL, thus making sure that Chara could never be brought back to life! He’d return the SOULS of the Monsters to their owners...except for one. He’d keep the SOUL of that moronic skeleton Sans, just for good measure, as well as the human SOULS!  _ That power should be enough to keep me in my true form...my adult form! _

And then...and then…

He’d rule over humans and Monsters with that girl at his side…

He felt his grin grow wider. “I’m not a kuudere anymore. I’m a yandere.”

The girl would be his senpai. She didn’t have a choice.

  
He pulled himself into the ground. No more fucking around. It was time for him to get those SOULS...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry! I know this is short, but I just felt so bad about the story being neglected! On the bright side: I have finished my Hetalia fan fiction, and I can now focus on my Undertale fan fiction AND my Gravity Falls/Undertale crossover!
> 
> Then, once this story is complete, I shall begin the sequel!
> 
> And because you all have been so nice with kudos and comments, I'll give you a teensy little detail about the sequel here:
> 
> It...is...a romance between Gaster and one of the Human SOULS!
> 
> *crickets chirping*
> 
> I THINK THEY HAVE THEIR DOUBTS, DARLING...BUT IF THEY REALLY WANT TO READ IT, I THINK THEY'LL LEAVE KUDOS AND COMMENTS.


	14. SOULless no More

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Flowey finally obtains the human SOULS.
> 
> Just a short, small chapter to keep us going! I should probably update the Gravity Falls/Undertale crossover one next...

It had taken him a while, but Flowey was finally at the castle, peering into the throne room.  _ There he is… _ Flowey narrowed his eyes at the figure watering the golden flowers. The king. His father.

The only one who stood between him and the SOULS. He was strong, the strongest Monster in the Underground. Flowey could never get past him. And Flowey could never get him to show him where the SOULS were kept. He could usually steal them when Asgore was distracted from his fight with Frisk.  _ But that’s what I’m trying to stop, isn’t it? I’m trying to keep that kid from coming here _ . He pursed his lips. Think...think...what haven’t I tried before? His mind went through all of his previous schemes.  _ I’ve gone through every room in this castle...I’ve searched New Home...I’ve asked him nicely to show me where he keeps them...I’ve threatened him...I’ve begged...I’ve asked other Monsters for help...I’ve impersonated Chara...I’ve used my real voice… _

_...but I haven’t impersonated her… _

Flowey pulled himself back under the ground and moved closer to where the king was standing. He took a deep breath and cleared his throat. “Gorey,” he called out, making sure it sounded echo-y and far away. “Gorey, where are you?”

Something hit the ground a few feet above him and to his left.  _ The old fool probably dropped his watering can…  _ “Tori?” The king whispered. “Is that you…?”

“Asgore, help me...I’m trapped with them...it’s so dark, Gorey, and I’m frightened…”

Desperation entered his voice. “Where are you? Who has you trapped?! Where are you??”

“The SOULS, Gorey...free the human SOULS, and I’ll come to you…” Flowey heard the heavy footsteps run from the throne room, and he followed the king’s path using his own system of tunnels.  _ Okay, so he wasn’t keeping them by the Barrier… _ Flowey froze as they reached a dead end. The king stopped in his tracks, but Flowey could hear mechanical whirs and some beeps.  _ I knew it! There was a secret room! _

The footsteps began again, and Flowey continued to follow them. Finally, at the end of a long, long tunnel...another door opened, and the footsteps stopped again. “Tori?” The king asked. “Tori, are you here?” Flowey took this opportunity to move past the place where the king’s footsteps had stopped. He then lifted himself up from the ground and licked his flower lips as he stared at the colorful SOULS in their transparent jars. He’d stolen them so many times that he could name their hosts and their strongest traits.

Scout, the embodiment of Patience. River, the embodiment of Bravery. Sandy, the embodiment of Integrity. Harper, the embodiment of Perseverance. Avery, the embodiment of Kindness. Skyler, the embodiment of Justice.

_ It’s now or never. _

He moved closer to one jar and gave it a light tap. It wobbled, then fell into the next jar, which fell into the next jar...the king turned to face the sound of shattering glass, then stared at the golden flower in horror. “Gorey, help me, I’m trapped,” Flowey mimicked with a smirk. “Gorey, I need the SOULS!” His voice returned to normal as he flashed the king a deadly smile. “You IDIOT. I can’t believe I didn’t use her against you before! I could have gotten these SOULS a long time ago!” The SOULS were free of their jars, but not free from him. Flowey sighed with relief and pleasure as the SOULS swirled around him, moving closer and closer…

...until they were inside him. _Mmm, the wriggling…_ He bit his lip to keep his orgasmic cry down as the SOULS began to struggle inside of him. And he could hear them, too.

_ “What’s going on?” _

_ “What’s happening?!” _

_ “Is it...is it Flowey?!” _

_ “No, it can’t be! It’s not time!” _

_ “Something isn’t right!” _

_ “Let us go, please, let us go!” _

He giggled as he looked into the frightened eyes of his father. He decided to use one of his favorite lines from one of the many confrontations with Frisk. “Aw, you’re feeling left out, aren’t you?”

“Let them go...just let them go free...I don’t want to wage war against the humans. Just let the SOULS go free...give the children back their lives…”

Flowey shook his head. “Sorry, old man, but I need them too much for that!” He cackled as he established a link with the king’s SOUL, and then tore that SOUL from the old fool’s body. The body was frozen, but it didn’t crumble into dust. “You know, I’ll never understand why the bodies don’t vanish when I take the SOULS,” Flowey remarked. “Curious, curious, curious…”

He could hear his father’s thoughts, too.

_ “Children?” _

_ “It’s the king!” _

_ “King Asgore!” _

_ “Mr. Dreemurr!” _

  
Flowey pushed the conversation to the back of his mind as he disappeared into the ground again. He began to head back to where he had last seen the girl.  _ Maybe I’ll get to feel her wriggling soon... _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn't planning on updating so quickly, but I went to bed and saw that four people left kudos on this story, and I was like
> 
> 0.0
> 
> :D
> 
> So, thank you guys! And here's another little detail about the Gaster sequel: it will reveal (one of my possible theories) about how Gaster became the scientist and how he came to meet Alphys and his followers!
> 
> Leave more kudos if you want more hints, leave more comments, leave more cookies...there are no cookies? Okay.
> 
> By the way, has anyone seen Mettaton? Mettaton...?


	15. Voices in the Head

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Flowey absorbs more power and obtains something he wants.

Flowey had started towards his destination with confidence, but he realized that his pace was slower after he had been travelling for some time. There was an unsettling feeling brewing deep within him, and he didn’t like it. He didn’t know what it was, but the SOULS seemed to know.  _ “Oh, my god, Flowey is in love!” _

_ “He’s nervous!” _

_ “I knew that there was some good inside him!” _

“Shut up, you little brats,” he muttered through gritted teeth.

_ “Ah, I remember this feeling. I felt this on the same day that I realized that I loved Toriel, _ ” the king’s voice sounded almost wistful and sad.

“Shut UP, old man,” the flower ordered. “Why would I be nervous?! I’m the Prince of this world! I can have anything I want! She’s going to love me!”

_ “No, she won’t, and you  know it.” _

Flowey’s eyes narrowed. “Shut up.”

_ “She’s going to be afraid of you!” _

_ “She’s going to hate you!” _

_ “You’re going to kill her friends! She could never forgive you for that!” _ Flowey sped up, his heart racing with...dare he say it...Determination.

A different kind of Determination.

The Determination to prove the voices in his head wrong.

* * *

But when he arrived at Undyne’s house, no one was home. The ghost and the dummies were in the house a few doors down, listening to spooky music and creeping out the neighbors. (Flowey did enjoy scaring Aaron from time to time, and the music frightened the horse monster quite a bit.)  _ “They must be further along!” _ One of the kids noted.

“No shit,” Flowey muttered. He decided to stay above his system of tunnels as he moved along the main road through Waterfall, doing his best to ignore the SOULS and their conversations. After he walked past several large bodies of water, he stopped for a moment and stared at his reflection.

Of all the things to be reborn as, it had to be a flower. And he wasn’t a particularly attractive flower, either. He didn’t have the symbolic beauty and meaning like roses, carnations, chrysanthemums, or even tulips. He was just...a golden flower. The closest thing he resembled was the flower humans called a daisy. He sighed as he remembered his true form. His grown form...he frowned. “I shouldn’t be postponing my plan this much, but maybe it would be best if I absorbed more SOULS and became myself again…” He said to his reflection. The flower in the water nodded in agreement.

_ “He’s stalling because he knows what he’s doing is wrong!” _

_ “Maybe the girl can help him realize that!” _

_ “But what if it doesn’t work? What if he ruins our world forever?!” _

_ “We just have to wait and see…” _

Flowey ignored them as he returned to his system of tunnels. His instinct was right; he needed to look the role of a future king to impress the future queen! And to do that, he just needed some more SOULS.  _ And I know just where to go for them… _

* * *

Toriel hummed a sad song to herself as she tended to the golden flowers. The garden had been planted beneath the opening in the mountain shortly after Chara’s death...the flowers were, she hoped, some comfort to the people of the Underground. She wished that Asriel was alive to see all the flowers in bloom...but both children were dead.

“Mommy?”

But sometimes, when she was alone, she thought that she could hear their voices...especially Asriel’s.

“Mom, it’s me! I’m back!”

Toriel froze and turned around. She dropped her watering can and clasped her hands to her mouth.

Her son was standing at the end of the path. He looked so young and innocent, small and full of life...he even wore his favorite striped shirt. “Asriel?” She whispered, hardly daring to believe it. The little boy stepped forward.

“Mom, it’s me!” He took another step forward, then suddenly ran towards her and crushed her waist in a hug. “I’m back, Mom.” Toriel dropped to her knees and embraced her child. Her shoulders shook with sobs.

“If this is a dream, I don’t want to wake up,” she whispered into her child’s ear.

“Mom, it’s okay...just close your eyes. It’ll be over in a second.”

_ “What an odd thing to say.” _ That last sentence didn’t come from Toriel as she embraced her son. It came from her SOUL as it was absorbed by him.  _ “What...what’s happening?! Where are we?” _

“Sorry, mother, but I need your SOUL more than you do,” Asriel apologized to the air with a grin. He had returned to the Ruins, taking as many SOULS as he could along the way. He had so many of them now; it was almost impossible for him to tell who was saying what inside his mind. He took a deep breath and let his power, his Determination, flow through his body. When he exhaled, he was no longer in his child form.

  
Asriel Dreemurr, the one true Prince of the Underground, was back in his real form.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You all have been so patient with me! Between school and my Gravity Falls/Undertale crossover, I've been swamped with work!
> 
> But summer is almost here! *does the happy dance* And summer is a time for fan fiction! And cartoons! *happy dance continues* The Undertale fan fiction shall be off the charts!!
> 
> As always, thank you all so much for the kudos and comments, it means the world to me! I know this chapter was a little short, but I just had to get something up before I write the next big scene between Flowey/Asriel and the girl!
> 
> Also, seriously, has anyone seen Mettaton? *looks around*


	16. 666

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An author's note!

666 views?! You guys are the bomb!

Flowey: Don't you have anything better to do than sit and wait for the number of hits on this story to increase? Shouldn't you be, oh I don't know, STUDYING?

HAH! I've already finished my Chinese project, so I'm ahead of the game~


	17. Finally!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Asriel catches up to the girl. The girl learns something that could come in handy later...

One disadvantage of Asriel’s normal form was not being able to access Flowey’s systems of tunnels. But the prince didn’t mind. He knew all of the regular shortcuts throughout the Underground, and he used those to move in on the girl. If any monsters crossed his path, he took their SOULS, leaving the bodies frozen, almost comatose. But he didn’t care.

All that mattered was stopping Chara and Frisk, taking the SOUL of that pathetic comedian Sans, and ruling over his kingdom with that girl at his side.

Speaking of...there she was. He had followed the girl’s trail throughout Waterfall and into Hotland. It all ended at Alphys’ lab. He took a deep breath, calming the last of those pathetic, pesky nerves, then approached the building…

* * *

“DARLING, ARE YOU SURE YOU’RE OKAY? YOU SEEM DISTRACTED.” Mettaton’s voice snapped the girl out of a daydream, and she blushed as she nodded.

“Y-yeah, just thinking about something,” she said. “I’m okay!” Oh, it was awful. Ever since that sleepover, she had been thinking about her steamy dreams about Asriel and Flowey! She tried to focus on other things, but everything she saw reminded her of the fallen prince! It was particularly bad when they passed through Waterfall and Papyrus started to talk more about the Echo Flowers and how one of them seemed to follow him around.

“THIS ONE FLOWER SHOWS UP WHEN I’M ALONE AND WHISPERS THINGS TO ME,” he said. One of the flowers picked up his voice and mimicked it. “HE TELLS ME THAT I CAN BE THE CAPTAIN OF THE ROYAL GUARD IF I REALLY FOCUS ON CAPTURING HUMANS!” Sans had glanced at the girl, but nobody said anything about this. Everyone except for Sans and the girl was thinking the same thing: someone was using an Echo Flower to toy with Papyrus.

“A-anyway, w-what were you th-thinking about?” Alphys asked, snapping the girl out of her thoughts.

“Oh! I was, um…”  _ Shit, shit, shit, shit… _ “...thinking...um...about Mettaton’s robot body! Yeah! Can you, uh, give anything a robot body?” She flashed the scientist a toothy grin.

“W-well, it’s all v-very technical, but I can explain it if you want…”

“Oh, please do, I’d LOVE to hear about it!” The girl kept her grin. Alphys cleared her throat and began.

“Okay, so the f-first thing you need to understand is, t-the SOUL is like a flower…”

* * *

_One very long and complicated explanation later…_

“...and t-that’s why robots are made of m-metal and magic!” Alphys finished. The girl blinked. _Okay, I really didn’t understand half of that explanation...but...if I understand the other half, then it should be possible to transfer Asriel’s SOUL into a robot’s body...so...yay!_

A loud clanging rang out, causing everyone in the room to jump. “What the hell was that?” Undyne growled as she reached for her spear, ready to defend her friends.

“I-I don’t know…”

“HAVE NO FEAR, PAPYRUS IS HERE!” The taller skeleton declared as he prepared his “special attack”. But then…

The entrance to the lab was ripped away. Not just the door. The wall with the door was ripped away from the rest of the building and thrown away like it was garbage.

  
And then the girl...and everyone else in the room...stood and trembled at the sight of Asriel Dreemurr.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter, I know, but I just had to put something up for you all! *fist bumps* Oooh, I'm working on the next chapter...things should get interesting (I hope)!
> 
> YOU HOPE? DARLING, DO YOU NOT KNOW?
> 
> METTATON! There you are! Where HAVE you been?!
> 
> I WAS CHECKING OUT YOUR GRAVITY FALLS/UNDERTALE CROSSOVER BECAUSE I SAW THAT MY NAME WAS ADDED TO THE TAGS. BUT I'M NOT IN THAT STORY YET.
> 
> Oh, don't worry, Mettaton...you will be soon...in the meantime, stay here! Our 53 kudos reviewers NEED your fabulousness!


	18. "Mine."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A big moment I think you've all been waiting for~ ;)
> 
> ...oh god Aaron is ruining my mind!!

At first, nobody moved. Nobody moved an inch. Asriel hovered about them all, shooting a smug glare down at them all, mocking them in silence about the power he now possessed. Then…

Undyne stepped forward. Papyrus followed. Mettaton and Alphys stood off to the side, ready to use their own powers to intervene at any moment, and Sans...well, he was ready to lift a finger and teach the prince some manners if he had to. But then Asriel spoke. “I had to go through a lot of trouble and a lot of SOULS to get my true form back...and I really shouldn’t have lost it at all!”

“Is this supposed to be our fault?” Undyne sneered. Her question was actually a good one, but it enraged Asriel further. He growled and his hands emitted a blinding light that filled the room.

The girl could hear his cackles and her heart pounding in her ears. But the light was too bright...she couldn’t see anything. It hurt to look around her. She shut her eyes as tight as she could, but the light still hurt...she lifted her hands to cover her closed eyes, and then she heard screams. Papyrus. Alphys. Mettaton. Where were Sans and Undyne? The room was shaking, like an earthquake was happening, and everything just became a sensory overload for the girl. It hurt to open her eyes. Her ears were pounding; she couldn’t stop shaking...something reached out and grabbed her around her waist, and the sudden action startled her before she went limp in a faint.

Asriel’s teeth clenched in a grin as he felt the surge of power rush through him with the SOULS of the new Monsters. He licked his lips as he singled out the SOUL that had previously belonged to Sans. All that power...it was delicious! It was almost too good to be true! The prince looked at the unconscious girl in his arms and his smile grew wider. It wasn’t too good to be true. It was perfect. And it was real. It was happening.

He had used his powers to pull the girl closer to him when debris from the lab threatened to fall and hurt her. He didn’t think she’d faint. _Poor thing’s been through so much…_ He chuckled and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. He adjusted her so that he was carrying her bridal style, then left the remains of the lab behind as he headed off for the palace.  _ I can’t wait for her to see what I have in store... _

* * *

The girl’s head hurt when she came to, and her neck was stiff. Her mind made a feeble suggestion to get a pillow, but it disappeared when the girl began to pay attention to her other senses. The blinding light was gone, but her vision was blurry when she opened her eyes. “What happened…?”

“Oh, good, you’re finally awake!” A new voice said, and the girl heard it, but just barely, over the ringing in her ears. 

“Who’s there?” She mumbled, blinking to get her vision clear. The ringing was dying down.

“Oh, that’s right, we haven’t met in my real form, not properly. Well, you’ll recognize me in a few minutes. I’m sorry about the side effects of what happened, but there wasn’t enough time for me to get you out of the room before I took your friends’ SOULS.”

“What are you talking about? Where am I…?” The girl’s vision was back to normal, and she examined her surroundings. She was in the throne room of the castle. She recognized the stained-glass windows and the fields of beautiful flowers. But there was something missing...Asgore was gone. But hovering a few feet in front of her was...Asriel Dreemurr. The memories came flooding back, and the girl’s eyes widened when she tried to move her arms and legs. “What is this? Am I tied to a chair?!”

“That’s right! That’s the same throne that my mother sat on when she was Queen of the Underground! And now you get to sit there, next to me!” Asriel’s eyes flickered with adoration, but it wasn’t an adorable kind of adoration. It was possessive and wild, fueled by untamed lust and insanity.  _ It’s the SOULS _ , the girl thought.  _ They’re driving him crazy. All that power, all those voices...it would drive me crazy. _ She craned her neck back to see her hands, which were, indeed, tied together behind the throne. Her ankles were bound together at the very bottom of the throne. She bit her lip as her mind raced to think of a way out of this. Asriel’s smile grew wider. “You’re even more beautiful when you’re afraid,” he remarked. The girl struggled against her bonds, but she turned her focus to Asriel.

“Where are my friends?” She demanded, trying to keep her voice steady. Asriel smirked.

“Who?” He feigned innocence. The girl scowled.

“Where are Sans and Mettaton and the others?! What did you do with them?!”

“Just forget about them. They’re gone now. They don’t matter. They never mattered,” Asriel said, totally calm and collected. He noticed that the girl was confused and frightened, and added, “They’ll always be here...with me.” The girl’s eyes widened when she grasped the meaning of those words.

“B-but why…? Why do you need their...their SOULS?”

Asriel hesitated. “I was going to keep it a surprise from you, but...I think it’ll be more fun to see your reaction now.” He grinned. “I’m going to use them to destroy the barrier and take back what belongs to me!” His eyes glinted. “We’re going to rule over the Monsters and humans together! And I’ll make sure that meddlesome Frisk doesn’t have a chance to bring Chara back from the grave to haunt us! Nothing will disturb us! It’ll be our perfect little kingdom…” The girl was frozen with fear, but she found her voice.

“Y-you can’t do this, Asriel! You can’t! Frisk won’t be able to save you if they can’t enter this timeline!”

“Frisk NEVER saved me!” Asriel spat.  “If I really was saved, then why was I left behind?! Why am I ALWAYS left behind?” His eyes glowed as he used his powers to shatter the stained-glass windows of the room. “EVERY...SINGLE….TIME!”

The girl trembled, but she tried to keep some a facade of bravery. “M-maybe in other timelines...b-but this time, it could be different...if you just let the SOULS go and let Frisk enter this timeline...and have a Pacifist walkthrough...t-then maybe things could be different afterwards…”

“NO!” Asriel’s scream was so powerful that the floor trembled, making the throne rock back and forth. “YOU’RE JUST TRYING TO COME UP WITH AN EXCUSE TO ESCAPE! IT WON’T WORK!” He took deep breaths at the end of that sentence, gradually calming himself. “You’re NOT leaving me.”

“W-why are you doing this?! We’ve barely spoken!”

“Oh, we never needed to,” Asriel replied. “I’ve been watching you...I know everything about you!” The girl shook her head, wanting to voice her objections, but then Asriel reached his hand out and caught her chin in his hand. “I can describe you in just one word.” He leaned forward until he was less than an inch from her face. The girl felt his hot breath when he whispered in her ear:

  
“ _ Mine _ .”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew! So hard to write, this one was! (Talk like Yoda, I do, too!)
> 
> Anywho~thank you all for being patient while this was being written, you're all the best! Now...how to proceed~?
> 
> Twenty five percent of my mind is like, "End the story now!" But the other seventy-five percent is like, "Continue! You have to have a proper ending before the sequel/prequel!" What do you all think~? Speaking of the sequel/prequel...
> 
> I haven't forgotten about it! And I'm going to tell you all right now something that will have a major connection to both this story and the next one, as well as my Undertale/Gravity Falls crossover story. This theory is something that has been rolling around in my mind for quite some time, and the more I think about it, the more I think, "Yeah, this could work in the Undertale universe...at least, for my fan fiction..." I don't want to state the theory explicitly right now and risk spoiling some major details, but I'll give you all advice on how to "find" it:
> 
> If you haven't already read it, find a copy of the original "Little Mermaid" fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen and read it.
> 
> And LEAVE. THE. KUDOS! AND THE COMMENTS! 
> 
> UNTIL NEXT TIME, DARLINGS~


	19. A Plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the girl, after some begging, hatches a plan that might save some of the SOULS...

The girl’s heart pounded; she knew that time was of the essence. At any moment, Asriel could go for the barrier and carry out his plan. Fighting back wasn’t an option. He had six human SOULS and an unknown number of monster SOULS. He could overpower her in an instant if she tried anything. Running away wasn’t possible with her tied to the throne. And even if she could run away, she wouldn’t. Two worlds were in danger, and running away wouldn’t save her or anyone else.

She could only see two options.

She could surrender.

Or she could stall.

That first option wasn’t going to happen. The girl knew that if she gave up, Asriel would go on to do horrible things. Frisk and Sans would be lost forever, and monsters and humans would be doomed. So...she had to stall for enough time to convince her captor to give up the SOULS and wait for a Pacifist walkthrough to be completed.  _ Then he can get a chance to live a life in a robot body. _ But how, oh how, would she stall?  _ There is good in him...I know there is. I’ve seen it! Other people have, too! I just need to reach out to it… _

“I…” She started to say something, but was caught off guard when Asriel’s eyes...those dark, piercing eyes...snapped towards her as soon as she spoke. “I...w-what makes you think that I’m yours?” Well, that could have gone better in terms of conversation…

The prince’s eyes still twinkled with insanity. “NOTHING is unattainable for me! I get whatever I want!”

“But you can’t have something that doesn’t want you!” The girl argued.  _ Oh, shit… _

Asriel smirked. “I heard what you said to that comedian. You’re in love with me!” The girl gasped and blushed as she remembered that night. “And we’re bonded…” The prince strutted towards the girl and pressed his thumb against the center of her forehead. “With enough practice, I could dig around your thoughts and find what you dream about...me doing to you.”

Oh, God, the sexy villain levels were off the charts. The girl gulped and took a steadying breath. “You want to know what I want you to do to me right now?” She narrowed her eyes to a glare. “I want you to let me go and let the SOULS go...I know you can do it.” The glare was gone, replaced with a look of pity. “There’s good in you, even if you and Sans don’t see it or think it’s there...but your mother saw it, and Frisk could see it…”

“Your tongue is valuable, dear, you wouldn’t want to lose it,” Asriel warned in a low voice. The girl fell into a morose silence. Talking about Frisk and Toriel was not an option in the presence of a madman. But...the others…

“I never said that I loved you,” she blurted before she could process the thought. “The goodness in you...I love that...Asriel...I’d love you if you let them go...let the SOULS go…” The girl bit down on her lip to keep herself from gasping as an idea occurred to her. “I-I mean...even just one little SOUL?” She looked away, pretending to be disinterested. “I mean, how much difference could one little Froggit SOUL make?” Asriel was a few feet away from her now, frozen, but deep in thought. The girl continued, “You probably wouldn’t even know it was gone; it’s so weak…”

_ “She’s right, you have to let us go!” _

_ “We’ll all disappear if you keep things like this!” _

_ “If Frisk can’t discover this world, then we’ll just stop existing!” _

_ “We exist because Frisk explores our universe! Their decisions shape the future!” _

_ “If Frisk becomes a Pacifist and leaves the world alone afterwards...then everything is left in your control…” _

_ “You just have to let that happen!” _

Asriel’s hands flew to his ears as the SOULS seemed to shout in unison, filling his head with encouragement. He gritted his teeth and stormed out of the room, leaving the girl behind. She watched him leave. She allowed herself to smile when she was sure he was gone. I think it worked…

* * *

In truth, Asriel hadn’t gone too far from the throne room. He was right outside the door. He hesitated and leaned against a nearby column. When did it become such a struggle to keep all of the SOULS under his control...in an orderly way? Although he hated to admit it...the girl did have a point.  _ What’s one little Froggit compared to the rest of those monsters and six human SOULS?  _ And letting it go would make it just the tiniest bit easier for him to control the others...wouldn’t it? He gritted his teeth and concentrated on the presence of Froggit within him…

* * *

The girl had no idea how much time had passed since Asriel had left her. It must have been several hours. And she was getting sleepy...so sleepy...her eyes began to close and her neck began to droop onto her left shoulder…

Before she fell asleep, she heard a familiar croak in the distance...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been too long since I updated, hasn't it? But I have an amazing younger brother who got me back on track, and he's managed to inspire me with several new ideas to keep the story interesting!
> 
> OH, THANK HEAVENS. I WAS STARTING TO GET BORED.
> 
> ... *bemused face* Anywho...thank you all for the kudos and comments, blah blah blah! I've said this in an author's note in my story "Things in Common Between a Flower and a Demon", but I'll say it now because this is VERY IMPORTANT to THIS story. I don't want to spoil anything explicitly, but I'll give you all a hint to uncovering a detail regarding a theory I have...a theory that I'll be using in my two Undertale stories and in this story's sequel/prequel. Here's the clue to uncovering my theory:
> 
> If you haven't already, find a copy of Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Mermaid" and read it.
> 
> BUT WHAT ABOUT THE DISNEY MOVIE? DOES THAT COUNT?
> 
> .......
> 
> LULU? DARLING?
> 
> ............no. It doesn't.
> 
> OKAY, DON'T GET ALL HUFFY LIKE THAT.
> 
> ...I'm going to go over there now...
> 
> GREAT, NOW SHE'S IN A BAD MOOD. DARLINGS, LEAVE THE KUDOS TO HELP WITH THAT, OKAY? I LOVE YOU ALL~


	20. A Froggit-ful Morning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> HAHA! Surprised~? Yeah, you didn't really think I'd abandon this story, did you? Well, I'm back with a new chapter! In which Asriel and the girl dream and discuss~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack~

_ Croak. Croak. Cro-oak. _

This was the sound that Asriel woke up to. He had waited until the girl had fallen asleep in the throne room, then carried her (and the throne she was bound to) to his personal room. He had stared at her from his bed until he fell asleep, and dreamed of the future...the worlds he would rule, with her as his queen...   
Now he was awake, but his eyes weren’t open. Not yet. There was a light pressure on his chest, not too firm to create discomfort, but large enough to be noticed. He opened his eyes and came face-to-face with a Froggit.  _ Croak, cro-oak. _ Asriel narrowed his eyes and felt his lip curl upwards in a sneer. “What are YOU looking at?” He growled. He picked up the frog and examined it with disgust. “You ugly thing...to think I actually consumed your SOUL!” He scoffed, pulled his arm back, and hurled the Froggit against the wall opposite his bed. The Froggit hit the wall with a satisfying splat, lingered in position for a few moments, then slid down to the ground. A trail of slime followed it as it moved. For some reason, Asriel felt compelled to approach it and taunt it even more. But as he stepped closer, the Froggit twitched…

...and hopped up, along with another Froggit. It seemed to have multiplied! Asriel blinked. “How…?”

_ Croak. Croak. Rib-bit _ . Asriel turned around…

His bed was covered with Froggits. He yelped and jerked his head left and right, but all he could see were the Froggits. They just kept coming from thin air! A familiar scream reached his ears, and when he looked to the source, he could see the girl, still bound to the chair, now covered head to toe with Froggits, all croaking in unison. As he watched in horror, the Froggits seemed to shift the chair so that the girl could face him (if her eyes were not covered by Froggits). All of the Froggits turned their gazes to him, and Asriel began to make out words from the croaks:

_ Why did you do it? Why did you do it? Why did you do it? Why did you do it? Why did you do it? Why did…? _

* * *

And then he jolted awake. His throat hurt, and he realized that he must have been crying out or screaming as he slept. His ears were ringing...the girl! Asriel’s eyes snapped to her and was surprised to see that she was also awake. She was panting like she had been running. Her eyes met his. “What was that?!” She shrieked.

Asriel blinked. For once, he was caught off guard. He had no prepared speech for this conversation. So he said the first thing that came to his mind: “What?”

“What was that?” She repeated, her voice still shrill. When he did not respond, she continued, “That...that dream! What was that about?!”

Asriel blinked again. “I…”

_ Croak, croak, rib-bit-bit _ . Asriel and the girl yelped. There was a tiny Froggit in the open doorway of the room. (Asriel had no reason to close the door, given that there were no threats left to him Underground.) Asriel stiffened at the sight of it, but the girl looked to the wall opposite of Asriel’s bed. “So you didn’t throw it against the wall,” she muttered. “Just a dream…” Reassurance and relief overcame them both, and as Asriel relaxed, he noticed that the girl hadn’t looked away from the wall, and she was...smiling? It wasn’t a genuine smile like the one that he had seen when she was around her precious friends. Her current smile was small with just a trace of sarcasm and deviousness, like she was recalling an old memory of a prank she had once pulled, or laughing at a joke that only she could hear.

“What are you smiling at?” Asriel growled. His tone came off rougher than he had intended it to be. The girl sobered up.

“Nothing. Just...something a professor of mine once said about a story we read in class.”

_ Croak. Ribbit. _ The Froggit captured their attention once again, and the girl, after a few moments, put two and two together. She smiled again, but it was sneaky once again. But this time, there was smug satisfaction and the smile was bigger, almost a cheeky grin. She struggled to wipe this look from her face, but to no avail. “You let Froggit go, didn’t you, Asriel?”

He narrowed his eyes at her. “And nothing has changed.” The girl fell silent, as did the rest of the room. Every so often, Froggit would break the quiet with a croak or ribbit. Asriel cleared his throat. “What story?”

“Pardon me?”

“What story?” He repeated. “You said you had read a story in a class. And a professor said something funny about it?”

“Oh!” The girl’s eyes widened as she remembered. For just a few moments, she seemed to forget that she was tied to a chair and conversing with a Monster holding her prisoner. For those few moments, Asriel got to see a different side of his vision of loveliness: a bright, intelligent girl who loved to chatter. He had already known that she was intelligent...naive, yes, but certainly not stupid...but he had never heard her talk with such enthusiasm about a certain topic until now. “Well, it wasn’t that she said something funny, actually. She said something really stupid, but she thought it was deep and thought-provoking, about a children’s story. A fairy tale. You’ve read  _ The Frog King or Iron Heimlich _ , right?” When Asriel shook his head, she continued, “Well, it’s a beautiful story, my parents used to read it to me when I was younger, but the professor analyzed everything to an extreme level and...well, it makes more sense if you’ve read it. We can try to find a copy…” She made a jerking motion forward, like she was attempting to stand up, but stopped. Only then did she remember that she was a prisoner, and became serious. “I...I don’t suppose you could untie me…?”

Asriel smirked. “Nice try, dear. That won’t work on me. You’re not quite ready to be away from me yet.”

“Original  _ Snow White _ much?” She muttered under her breath. Asriel heard her.

“What did you say?”

“It was just a reference to another fairy tale story...ugh, I can’t stand this!” She struggled to free herself from the chair. Of course, nothing she tried worked. “I HAVE to find a book of the stories now.” She gave her captor an exasperated look. “Ask yourself this: where could I possibly go? You...aside from Froggit, everyone else is gone…” Her shoulders slumped. “I can’t go anywhere without you finding me. I wouldn’t want to run away…” Asriel smirked once again, and the girl blushed before she corrected herself. “W-what I meant is...I don’t want to make you angry. I don’t want you to hurt me...look, you’ve won, okay?! There’s no point in keeping me tied up! So...at least let me try to find a book so we can attempt to have semi-normal conversations later!” The Monster didn’t budge an inch, so she added a half-hearted, “Please…?”

Asriel gritted his teeth and flattened his ears against his head when the voices in his head began to speak up. They all spoke at once, but they all seemed to say the same thing, urging him to let the girl go. “Shut up,” he growled as he pressed his hands to his ears. The SOULS became quiet as the girl looked on, a mixture of absolute terror and pity upon her face. He narrowed his eyes at the girl, who became more and more afraid as he lowered his voice. “I’m watching you. Anything funny...and there will be consequences.” The girl nodded. She didn’t speak or move as her captor undid the ropes that bound her to the chair, and she waited for him to move away before she stood up. She moved at a deliberate, slow pace. Anything, she thought, could set him off.

“W-where do you normally keep books?” She mumbled. She didn’t look at him.

“I’ll show you,” he said as he exited the bedroom. He waited for her in the hallway, but a twinge of annoyance appeared as he watched her trail behind him, her head bowed. “Hurry up!” He snapped. When she caught up to him, he seized her by the wrist and dragged her from one place to the next...in what felt like five minutes, he took her from the palace, through the Core, through Hotland...until they finally ended up at the dump. “A lot of the junk from the human world ends up here. I’m sure you’ll find it.” He stood off to the side, acting like he wasn’t guarding the exit to the dump. Acting like he wasn’t monitoring her movements. The girl sighed and began her search...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LULU, MY DARLING, WHERE DID YOU GO FOR ALL THESE MONTHS?! DO YOU CARE NOTHING FOR YOUR READERS?!
> 
> Oh, Mettaton, I missed this story, too! But I had to go back to college and...well, other things happened... *insert flashback of pretty much everything that happened in 2016* ANYWAY. I'm back with a new update! And the best part? I've figured out how to incorporate The Little Mermaid into the story~kind of! Whatever, you'll see!
> 
> RIGHT...RIGHT.
> 
> Oh, shut up, Mettaton! Let's see if my readers haven't given up on me, and maybe I'll update before the end of the month~ *whispers* JK I'm totally updating before the end of the month. My Muse is back!


	21. Holding Back...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Asriel realizes that some of the SOULS are holding valuable information back from him and that he must try to hold back from the temptations of the girl's flesh...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just some risque themes in here, a head's up! (At least, they're risque to me...I'm such a prude IRL...)

For the first few minutes, Asriel admired his queen-to-be from where he stood. He found that the two things about her that he used to hate had some redeeming qualities. Her skin was the lemony color of Frisk’s skin, but her complexion was much smoother than that of the child. Her eyes were the same color as Chara’s, but her eyes were bigger and kinder than Chara’s. The girl had much longer eyelashes, too...as she moved further away from him, more entranced with the garbage than she was focused on her captor, he turned his mind to other matters. All this Determination...it was time to put it to a real test. Asriel closed his eyes and concentrated on the Monsters within him. On their SOULS. On their Determination.  _ Accessing a SAVE file should be no problem, right? _ Now that he had a large source of Determination, he could overwrite any progress that Chara or Frisk had made in the previous timelines, right?

...right?

He exhaled and relaxed his body, then took a sharp breath. He concentrated as hard as he could…

...and there it was. The SAVE file. He gasped and grinned. This was it. He was finally going to beat Frisk and Chara. He moved his hand forward, ready to touch it and make his mark as indescribable yet oh-so-familiar sounds of the SAVE process reached his ears…

...but his hand passed right through the SAVE file. Asriel blinked, pulled his hand back, and brought it down upon the file once more. Nothing. His hand passed through it again. Nothing. Again. Nothing. Again. Again. And again. He blinked once more, and when his eyes opened, the SAVE file was gone. He kicked a box of garbage over, biting his tongue to keep himself from screaming and frightening the girl.  _ Why can’t I SAVE?! _

“ _ hate to break it to you, but you’re gonna need more Determination if you even wanna touch the barrier or the SAVE file _ ,” that smiley trashbag said in his mellow voice. Asriel gasped. The words of the skeleton brought one memory back, a memory from so many timelines ago...a memory he preferred, as a rule, to never think about.

_“I-it’s okay t-to think about it...P-Prince Asriel…”_ A memory with that awful Alphys in it...

“I found it!” The girl announced in a triumphant voice. She had rummaged through several mountains of garbage and stood about ten or so feet away from where Asriel had last noticed her.  _ I’ll deal with you later _ , he mentally growled, aiming his comment at the aforementioned skeleton and pathetic scientist. The girl had returned to Asriel. There was a big smile on her face; she didn’t seem to mind the smell of the trash too much. She hugged a thick hardcover book to her chest like it was a baby. She noticed that Asriel was trying to read the title of the book, so she extended it to him. “Here you go!” Asriel narrowed his eyes and snatched the book away from her.

“Family Stories: From Andersen to Salten,” he read aloud. “They must have been pretty awful if this book ended up here.”  _ They must have been pretty awful if their stories were never read to me and Chara… _ The girl gasped.

“No, that’s not true at all! They’re wonderful! Oh, you have to read the book now!” She paused. “Or...or not...well, I’m going to read it…may I have the book back, please?” Asriel handed it back to her, but his eyes were narrowed.

“I don’t like that patronizing tone,” he warned. She hesitated. Part of her wanted to fight back and say the truth, which was that she wasn’t trying to be patronizing. Another part of her knew that the smart thing to do would be to apologize, bow her head and ask his forgiveness. But...she said nothing. She didn’t hang her head until he was leading the way back to the palace, and even then, her head hung from sadness, not defeat or humility. The walk was silent...so silent that their footsteps practically echoed through the caverns of Waterfall. The girl looked around. When did they pass through Waterfall? Asriel had dragged her here so quickly...only Hotland and the Core were fresh on her mind from the journey.

She began to recognize some features of the world. “A-aren’t we going the wrong way?” She asked in a timid tone.

“No,” Asriel replied. “If there’s one thing that smiley trashbag was good for, it was creating more shortcuts. There’s one that leads back to the palace.” The girl’s eyes widened.

“That explains how he was able to get there before Frisk...I mean, before you,” she corrected when Asriel’s fist clenched in anger. “He had one that connects to MTT Resort, too, right?”

Asriel smirked.  _ She catches on quickly, that clever girl… _ “Yes, he did.” He could feel the skeleton’s SOUL wiggle and thrash about within him. Of course, the efforts to escape were useless.

The walk became silent again. The girl made no attempts to stray from the path that Asriel led them along, but at several points, she became confused. Asriel would show her shortcuts and detours that were totally unknown to her...she tried to keep track of where they were, but once they entered a part of Waterfall that she had never seen before, she gave up and blindly followed him for the rest of the way. That is...until one point in Hotland.

It was around Muffet’s checkpoint. The girl had paused to take a look around and bask in the familiarity of her surroundings. When she spotted the Spider Bake Sale table, her stomach rumbled. The spiders were all gone...but the food remained. Asriel watched her approach the table and hold her hand a few inches above a plate of Muffet’s homemade Spider Donuts. “They’re still warm,” she whispered in awe. Her hand dove into one of the pockets of her pants. When it emerged, it was holding 10 G. She placed them on the table and reached for one of the donuts. Asriel scoffed.

“Why didn’t you just take it? No one would have known.”

“But you were watching,” the girl pointed out before she took a bite.

“I wouldn’t have cared,” Asriel said.  _ Chara liked to steal… _

The girl finished her donut before she replied. “Well, it’s the thought that counts. The money goes to a good cause...I don’t know, I would have felt bad if I hadn’t left any money behind.”

Her words had a stronger impact on Asriel than he thought they would, and he was pensive for the rest of the walk…

* * *

They had stopped at New Home for a rest. Asriel had unlocked the door to the bathroom for the girl, and after Asriel informed her that he was going to gather more food, she got to shower in peace. Asriel was tempted to watch her bathe, but decided, after much deliberation, to let her have her privacy. He had never seen a naked human before, and he wasn’t entirely sure if he was ready yet…

The girl’s shower took a very, very long time, and Asriel became bored as he waited for her. He flipped through the pages of the fairy tale book once, skimming the names on the pages. Hans Christian Andersen. Italo Calvino. Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm. Felix Salten. J.M. Barrie. Carlo Collodi.  _ But none by Lewis Carroll… _ When the girl emerged from the bathroom, dressed in her old clothes, Asriel closed the book and acted like he hadn’t been reading it. He examined her attire, shook his head, and pointed to the bedroom he had once shared with Chara. “There’s more clothes in there. Find something cleaner.” The girl seemed happy to oblige...but she took so much longer in the bedroom than she did in the bathroom. Asriel was so tempted to reach for the book again...but then she finally emerged, dressed in a new outfit. Her arms were overflowing with tops, bottoms, and shoes.

“I got a little carried away,” she explained in a giggle. “It’s all so cute! And I can’t believe so much of it is in my size!”

_ Mother wanted to have the right clothes on hand for everyone in case more humans came along… _ “Well, come on,” Asriel said. He led the way out of New Home and back towards the castle, trying his hardest not to think about how great her legs looked in the pants she had changed into...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FYI, Felix Salten was the author of Bambi and Carlo Collodi was the author of Pinocchio!
> 
> Also, in my first attempt at creating something on Polyvore, I created this outfit...I imagined the girl wearing it when she left the room with all those other outfits! http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=215805878
> 
> Oh, Mettaton, would you do the honors, please?
> 
> CERTAINLY, DARLING, BUT ONLY BECAUSE YOU DID UPDATE BEFORE THE END OF THE MONTH, LIKE YOU PROMISED! *AHEM* BE SURE TO LEAVE KUDOS AND REVIEWS IF YOU WANT THE AUTHOR TO PROCRASTINATE HER COLLEGE WORK AND UPLOAD CHAPTERS FASTER!


	22. God and Nothing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Sans reveals why Asriel can't touch the SAVE file or barrier and that only person can. Asriel recalls one of Flowey's memories and accepts that Sans is right, but alters his plan to accommodate the new details...

The girl had collapsed from exhaustion before they even reached the Hall of Judgement, but Asriel didn’t mind carrying her back to his personal chambers. He was going to tie her back to her chair, but decided to let her rest in the bed while he addressed a pressing matter at hand. He left her alone in the room, went into the Hall of Judgement, and closed his eyes. He concentrated and singled out a single SOUL...focusing his energy on isolating that SOUL from the others...draining it of Determination, but leaving it with just enough so that it could temporarily take physical form…

When Sans the Skeleton appeared at the opposite end of the Judgement Hall, Asriel didn’t recognize him. He was a totally different person without his powers. He didn’t look like a sentient skeleton. He looked like a stack of bones that would collapse at the slightest touch. There was nothing in his eyes: no will to fight, no emotion. He just...existed. Asriel smirked. “Now then, you smiley trashbag, I believe there’s something you need to tell me.”

“it’s not...a secret...i’m surprised...you haven’t...figured this out before…” Sans’ voice was a rasp, a wheeze, not the melodious mellow drawl of a comedian. “SOULS...never completely...lose all of their Determination...that’s why...even at your full power against the kid...you can’t...win...because the SOULS are working...against you...even without their memories, they work against you...and we’re working against you now...heh, heh…” Sans chuckled. “and that’s why...you couldn’t even keep full control...of the other humans...against the kid...they fought back, didn’t they?” Sans’ grin suddenly appeared for the first time in this conversation. “and you can’t touch the barrier. you can’t touch the SAVE file. there’s only one person who can change the events in our world once and for all...and you’re not them. i’m not them. why do you think i can’t bring back my dad? why do you think you can’t have a happy ending, even if certain timelines are completed and left alone, as they are, with everyone happy?” Asriel’s eyes widened. No...it couldn’t be… “even if the SOULS were to completely obey you and help you reach a SAVE file or the barrier, it wouldn’t do anything. in the end, the kid could undo it in the blink of an eye. their Determination is stronger.” Sans became cocky. “they’re the god that you’ll never be.” Asriel’s eyes sparked with anger before he raised a hand and captured the SOUL of Sans once more. He heard the other SOULS cry out with relief and joy when he rejoined them. Asriel began to pace back and forth in the Hall of Judgement...

There was one time...one time Frisk...Chara...whoever it was...they didn’t Reset immediately after completing a Pacifist walkthrough. In fact, several days...weeks, even...passed without any sign of the human with Determination. Flowey had watched as the Monsters began to pack up their belongings and leave for the surface. He had tried to feel happy, for once. “They’re going to leave this awful place and live happily ever after on the surface,” he had told himself. “They’re happy.” But...nobody came...for him…Flowey began to panic and fear. He was going to be all alone in a world that would never be Reset...he struggled with this dreadful thought for days...until he remembered…

There were others like him.

* * *

_It hadn’t been very difficult for him to break into the True Lab. He had done it once before, and he could do it again. He had initially ESCAPED that place, so why shouldn’t he be able to find his way back inside? He found his way back to the room with all the flowers and mirrors and pulled himself onto the table where the flowers rested. He looked at them in their pots, and he felt...or tried to feel, really and truly tried to feel...loving. They were like the brothers and sisters he never had...but almost did...he began to whisper to them an old poem that his mother would tell him whenever he was sick...but as he reached his favorite line, the one about the mome raths, he was interrupted. “Y-you!” Alphys shouted as she barged into the room. “H-how d-did you get in here?!”_

_ Flowey was startled by the sudden entrance, so he recoiled and growled at her. “BACK OFF!” He recognized her, calmed himself down, and softened his tone. “I’m not doing anything wrong...this time.” _

_ “W-well, t-technically no, but what are you even doing?! I shut this a-awful place down for a reason! Y-you have no r-right…” _

_ “Right?!” Flowey interrupted her, echoing the last word. He had turned his back to her when she mentioned the lab as “awful” (not that she wasn’t wrong, he just didn’t want her to see the pain on his face). But he smiled as he turned to face her. “Oh, don’t YOU start lecturing ME about rights, you sicko!” His face contorted. “I was the Prince of…” His voice trailed off. The “M” word was on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn’t bring himself to say it, because it reminded him that everyone was gone. _

_ “Y-you wha?” Not the dear doctor’s most eloquent moment… _

_ Flowey bowed his head...then pulled it up with a fit of cackles. “The Prince,” he mused, “of NOTHING.” He stormed to the end of the table, as far away from Alphys as he could be without leaving the table or the room. _

_ “W-wait! W-what did you mean by…?” _

_ Flowey hesitated. “The Underground is all but empty now,” he remarked. He turned around, a forced grin on his face. “Nobody left for me to play with, hee hee!” Some of his sarcasm faded when he spoke the next sentence. “But there were others, weren’t there?” Alphys was sweating, unable to answer. Flowey used his roots to crawl back across the table to her and the flowers. “Others like me...or, at least, what would have been...these...prototypes…” His voice trailed off as he gestured to the flowers. “And since you’re not doing anything with them, I figured…” One of his roots snaked over to a drooping flower and propped it up. “...rather than simply leaving them to wilt, you wouldn’t mind donating them to a worthy cause?” _

_ “W-what are you saying?” _

_ “What I’m saying, Doctor Alphys, is...well, from one sicko to another...and this is me asking nicely…” He couldn’t bring himself to look her in the eye anymore. “...please. Help me. Help me make…” He smiled. “More,” he finished in a whisper. _

_ “W-wha…?” _

_ “Make MORE,” Flowey repeated in a more sinister, pressing voice. Alphys was crying, but Flowey didn’t notice. “I mean, you must have some Determination left over from back then, right? If these flowers won’t suffice, we can always collect more from the royal garden!” Alphys was backing away. “As for the catalyst...you can’t go two feet around here without stepping in something left behind by those Amalgamates of yours!” Alphys had her back pressed against a mirror. “It’s not exactly dust, but it should be enough to suit m-OUR purposes.” He noticed now how frightened she was, and decided to work off of her fear. “So, what do you say? Let’s bury the hatchet before we part ways and…” He contorted his face and deepened his voice. “...give me a reason not to follow you.” Her eyes widened, and Flowey changed his approach from villainous to victimized. “You gave me life, doctor. Isn’t it only fair that you leave me with someone to share it with?” _

_ “U-uh...oh, geez...I-I’m sorry...really, I am! I wish I could help you, but I can’t, I…” She sighed. “I gave up Determination research a long time ago. After what I...what I did to those poor Monsters...after how much pain I caused everyone...I don’t think I could ever…” Flowey’s petals rustled as he looked away from her. “P-p-please try to understand, I…” _

_ “Understand,” Flowey echoed. “Understand?!” Some of the Determination from that last battle with Frisk still lingered within him...he used it to sprout thorny vines that he usually kept for his Omega Flowey form. Alphys flinched and shut her eyes, expecting the vines to reach for her...but she peeked when Flowey’s vines retracted. Flowey’s head was turned away, but the scientist could tell from the sounds he was making that he was sobbing. “No one…” He shuddered. Determination coursed through his body without any prompting from him, and when he spoke again...it was in his real voice. “No one understands...I’m...alone…” When the flower looked at the scientist, he could see the childlike features of Asriel Dreemurr reflected in her eyes. “I’m so alone, Alphys…” _

_ “Oh, God...Prince Asri…” Alphys moved to comfort the flower. _

_ But Flowey didn’t want that worthless pity. A circle of white bullets formed around the scientist’s head. “You made me like this!” He accused. His voice had reverted back to the “normal” tone that was Flowey’s. He let his bullets penetrate Alphy’s body. She cried out in pain before she fell to the ground, bleeding. “You made me,” Flowey repeated. “You made me!” His stem grew until his shadow loomed above her cowering form. “You. You were my god…” _

_ “P-Prince Asriel, j-just let me explain…!” The thorny vines had reappeared when Flowey’s stem had started to grow. One of them lunged at the scientist and wrapped around her throat, silencing her. _

_ Flowey brought himself to Alphy’s eye level. “But now? Hee hee! I’m your god! And I ORDER you to…!” He gasped. Determination shocked his body and made him relieve a memory with Frisk...it was different from other times...he was watching the memory through Frisk’s eyes. He watched, as Frisk, as Asriel looked at them and said, “Don’t you have anything better to do?” An invisible force knocked Flowey backwards, forcing him to release Alphys. As the scientist coughed and gasped for air, Flowey felt his vines retreat and his stem return to normal size. He backed away from her, confused. “That’s not...I didn’t mean to…” He looked in the mirror closest to him. A flower looked back at him. Flowey screamed in frustration and fled the lab. He returned to the flower bed in the Ruins, where he remained for the rest of the week. At the end of the seventh day, the timeline was Reset... _

* * *

Asriel froze. He should have known...even with all the Determination in the Underground...he couldn’t defeat Chara and Frisk. Their influence was so great, too great...that it would ultimately clash with any attempts Asriel made to make a happy ending for himself…even if a timeline was completed and left alone...their influence protected the characters from Flowey. Their influence kept Flowey TRAPPED.

_ No. No, no, no...no! _ Asriel clenched a fist and plunged it into one of his pillows. Feathers exploded from the impact.  _ This isn’t true...I WILL take their SOUL! That’s it… _ Asriel’s face stretched into a grin.  _ That’s it...Frisk...or Chara...need to come to me… _

The plan had changed yet again, but Asriel knew that this was for the better. He could picture it now: poor, stupid Frisk or that horrible, cocky Chara...one would enter the Underground and find NOTHING. They’d wander around, calling for help or looking for LOVE...and find NOTHING. Then...once they reached the palace...Asriel would open with his most powerful attack on them and take their SOUL. THEN he could touch the barrier. THEN he could SAVE. And then, when the time was right...he smirked.

On their wedding night, he would dance with his bride on the coffins of the fallen humans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WELL, MAYBE IF HE DIDN'T ALWAYS TRY TO DO SOMETHING EVIL, THE KID'S INFLUENCE WOULDN'T HOLD HIM BACK FROM DOING WHATEVER HE WANTED AFTER THE TIMELINE ENDED.
> 
> *slaps hand over Mettaton's mouth* METTATON! You're going to spoil EVERYTHING...well, maybe not everything...but still! Shhhhh!
> 
> ...DOES THIS MEAN THAT I CAN'T GIVE SHOUT-OUTS TO OUR FABULOUS READERS?
> 
> ...no. You may proceed!
> 
> WONDERFUL! *AHEM* BE SURE TO LEAVE KUDOS AND REVIEWS TO HELP THE AUTHOR WRITE FASTER! WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH!
> 
> Also, be sure to check out this YouTube animation that basically helped this chapter come to life! I saw this video, and I just HAD to include it in the chapter, it is AMAZING! Here it is:
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-c_FbEDZZ4
> 
> *whispers* Leave kudos and reviews and I'll put up at least two chapters in February!


	23. Sea Monsters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Asriel reads the book of fairy tales and dreams.

When Asriel returned to his chambers, he saw that the girl hadn’t moved an inch from where he had placed her on the bed. He picked her up, intending to move her to the throne, but something made him pause. She had fallen asleep on top of the book she had searched for earlier that day. He stared at the book for a few moments, then grabbed it and placed the girl back on the bed, taking the utmost care not to wake her. He took the book with him into the throne room. He curled up in the throne in a most unkingly, yet comfortable, position, and opened the book. _I might as well know what she’s talking about if she insists on referencing this trash_. He had no problems thinking to himself; the SOULS seemed to be “sleeping”. Could SOULS sleep inside bodies that didn’t belong to them? He had no idea, but he was happy as long as they weren’t snooping around his thoughts or making his head hurt with their chatter.

Asriel read the stories late into the night. “The Frog Prince” wasn’t that special, neither was “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”. The first was about a frog who did a favor for a princess. In return, he wanted to be her friend. She abused him and behaved like a brat...until she ended up kissing him, which restored him to his human form. The frog was actually a human prince who had been cursed to become a frog by an evil witch. He married the princess and lived happily ever after. “Snow White” was about a princess of such breathtaking beauty that her own stepmother attempted to murder her out of jealousy not once, not twice, but three times. The stepmother had the titular princess eat a poisoned apple...Asriel lost interest around this point and skipped to the end. The princess married a prince. Asriel yawned.

Humans seemed obsessed with the concept of royalty. Monsters couldn’t have cared less about it. Asgore had always been King of the Monsters. He fell in love with someone who hadn’t been of “noble” blood, but he took her to be his wife with no complaints from anyone. She gave him a child. When it became clear that the king and queen had passed their immortality to their offspring, the child was named Prince. Everyone knew that he would rule over the Monsters once his parents passed away.

Asriel liked “Rapunzel” and “Cinderella” and found “Hansel and Gretel” to be a guilty pleasure. But his favorite was, without a doubt, “The Little Mermaid”.

It was the story of a Monster princess...well, she was described as human in appearance, except for her bottom half. Instead of legs, she had a fish tail. This type of Monster was called a “mermaid”. There was a whole society of Monsters just like her, and they lived in this large body of water called “the sea”. The humans lived on dry land above the water’s surface, but could sail over the water in large things called “ships”. One day, the mermaid swam to the surface. There was a terrible storm that caused one of the ships to sink. The mermaid rescued a handsome human prince from drowning and brought him to dry land. But something horrible had happened:

The mermaid had fallen in love with the human prince. She was so determined to be with him that she consulted with a sea witch to see if she could become human. The witch gave the mermaid a potion that would trade her voice and tail for a pair of legs. The witch also explained that if the mermaid joined the human prince in marriage, a part of his soul would flow into her and make her a real human. Asriel read that passage over and over again. He wondered if something like that would happen to him once the girl became his bride. He kept reading to see what would happen to the mermaid. He became bitter when he saw that “The Little Mermaid”, unlike the other stories, didn’t have a happy ending. The human prince married a human princess and the mermaid transformed into foam upon the sea water.

Asriel had no idea how to feel about that ending. All of the SOULS within him were quiet, restful, which meant he could consider his own thoughts without the voices in his head hijacking his train of thought. He could admit to himself that he felt a kinship with the mermaid without anyone knowing. Asriel was just like her: they had no SOULS to call their own. He had started to read the story again, but his eyelids felt heavy. It wouldn’t hurt to rest his eyes for a few moments, right…?

* * *

_He was on a dock that wasn’t connected to anything. He was stranded, in other words, on a wooden platform in the middle of an endless expanse of inky black water. Human women with sad faces swam around the platform. Their tails seemed to connect into one long, scaly ribbon as they swam faster and faster...he closed his eyes for only a split second, but when he opened them, he was at one end of the Hall of Judgement. At the other end, the girl stood, dressed in white, in front of an altar and in the company of an unpleasant human male. As Asriel ran towards them, the hall filled with water and everything, including the girl, seemed to get sucked away from him...but something moved towards him...it was Chara. They walked towards Asriel, actually walked like a person normally walks. The water didn’t seem to bother them. Their face was stuck in that creepy smile they were so good at making. They looked up at Asriel, who seemed to float, frozen, in the water, and handed him a bouquet of golden flowers. Asriel took them and realized that the flowers looked like Flowey. They were struggling to breathe...Asriel squeezed their stems as they drowned, and Chara spoke:_

_ “I have walked among men and angels for three thousand years. Time has no end. No beginning. No purpose. I wander the Earth, seeking forgiveness for my horrible crimes against Humans and Monsters. I live to see death and destruction. Evil...over the light. But the light cannot be extinguished. I live in a prison of my own demise. I am lost in time.” _

* * *

Asriel woke up, buried his face in his hands, and began to weep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...WELL, THAT WAS ODD.
> 
> Oh, don't worry, Mettaton...I have a plan! Everything shall come together quite nicely!
> 
> WAIT! I JUST REALIZED SOMETHING! WHAT IF THE AUTHOR OF THE STORY ACTUALLY KNEW ABOUT...
> 
> *puts hand over Mettaton's mouth* NO.
> 
> BUT WHAT IF IT'S TRUE AND...
> 
> NO. *squirts Mettaton with water bottle* Do the shout-outs, then go to your room!
> 
> UGH, FINE. THANK YOU, FABULOUS EIGHTY-THREE KUDOS VIEWERS! AND THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO HAS LEFT A REVIEW THUS FAR! IF YOU WANT OUR DEAR AUTHOR TO PUT UP ANOTHER CHAPTER BEFORE THE END OF FEBRUARY, THEN LEAVE MORE COMMENTS AND MORE KUDOS!
> 
> Thank you, Mettaton. Oh! While he's in time-out, I'll take this moment to mention that Chara's strange speech is a modified version of the Gravemind speech from Halo 2. For more information on that speech, check out Tats TopVideo's "Top 45 Scariest Easter Eggs in Games" video. The speech is number 28...
> 
> AND GRANDPA UBOA IS NUMBER SIX!
> 
> PAPYRUS! Do you need to go to time-out, too?!
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10WKeRGzNJQ&t=877s


	24. Almost Like Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the girl and Asriel have a semi-normal conversation and Asriel decides that they need servants.

The girl’s eyes opened to an empty half of a large bed.  _ This is...I’m in… _ She jolted awake as panic gripped her heart.  _ What happened?! _ She remembered going on an errand with Asriel...then going to New Home...then starting to head back to the castle…  _ Did I fall asleep on the way there…? Weird… _ The girl shrugged. The explanation seemed logical. Asriel must have let her spend the night on the bed instead of tied to a chair. She wasn’t complaining; the bed was quite comfortable, but she didn’t understand why. Maybe he was starting to trust her. Maybe...

In any case, she took advantage of the time she had alone and dressed in some of the new clothes she had picked out. She contemplated her next course of action as she dressed.  _ Should I stay put…? Should I look for him…? _ Ultimately, she decided to leave the room to look for him. She could use that time to explore the castle and uncover any secrets...or so she thought. He was in the first place that she checked: the throne room.

Asriel sat on his father’s chair in a most undignified manner. His knees were hugged to his chest, and his shoulders shook as he took deep, shuddering breaths. The fur on his face had wet patches that formed lines down his cheeks. He had been crying. The girl felt her heart swell with pity. “Asriel…” She half-whispered, half-called as she entered the room. His eyes darted over to her. “Why are you crying?”

“I’m not crying,” the Monster lied as he wiped his face with the back of his hand. He adjusted his position and steadied his breath.

“Are you sure? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing!” He insisted with a  warning glance.

The girl wasn’t convinced, but she let the matter drop. “If you don’t want to talk about it, that’s okay. But...I’m your…” She paused. She wanted to say “friend”, but she wasn’t sure if they even fell under the friendzone.  _ Friends don't typically hold each other hostage _ . She refused to call herself his queen or his bride, and she knew that he didn’t really see her as a prisoner, so she couldn’t use that term, either. “I’m here,” she said at last.

There was a pregnant, awkward pause. “I read the book,” Asriel announced after an unknown time. “Including those stories you told me about yesterday.”

The girl perked up. “What did you think?”

“I don’t see what your professor saw in them,” he said. He really wanted to tell her that he didn’t think that those particular stories were any good, but decided against it. He didn’t want to say anything to make his lovely girl upset if it could be avoided.

The girl was happy with what he said. “Good! No one should see what my professor saw in them! That stupid cow,” she added with a scowl.

Asriel couldn’t help himself. “What did she see in the stories?”

The girl sighed, the way people do when they prepare to go into a rant or make a speech. “Okay...so...she thought that Snow White’s character represented ‘the male gaze’,” she explained, making air quotes around the last words, “and that the story was defining Snow White as the ideal woman because she was submissive and beautiful, even in death.”

Asriel blinked. “I...didn’t see that at all in the story.” Not to mention that his ideal woman wasn’t submissive...loyal, caring, always by his side, yes, but not completely submissive. That’s why he liked the girl: she wasn’t afraid to think or share her thoughts. She was curious. She was, in her own way, bold and defiant. It had angered him when she pleaded for the lives of her friends, but in hindsight...she seemed more attractive than she would have been if she had bowed her head and gone along with everything he had told her. He shook his head and focused back on the girl’s words. “What about  _ The Frog Prince _ ?”

She facepalmed. “My professor believed that the story was a message about how ‘handicapped people are only useful to society when they overcome the thing that makes them handicapped’.”

“...that’s even dumber than what she said about Snow White.”

“I know, right?!” The girl smiled at him. In the few seconds in which she smiled at him, it almost seemed like they were friends engaged in a normal conversation. It was pleasant and peaceful, and they both felt relaxed. The moment ended when the girl’s stomach growled. She blushed. “Um...any plans for breakfast?” She asked, trying to keep the tension at a low point.

Asriel chewed his lower lip. Then he stood. “Wait here,” he said, then left. The girl remained in the throne room. She was absolutely sure that she was alone in the large room, but as time passed, she began to feel like a pair of invisible eyes were fixed on her…

* * *

Asriel entered the Hall of Judgement. He had gotten a better grip on his powers by now, so it didn’t take as long for him to single out four particular SOULS and concentrate on them, allowing them to access the Determination they needed to have a physical form...and these particular individuals weren’t as strong as that meddling skeleton, so he didn’t bother to keep their powers in check. He could hear other SOULS chattering, wondering what he was doing. He gave them an answer. “Kings and queens need their servants, don’t they?” Finally, the four individuals he had called upon appeared in front of him. He scrutinized them, making sure they were fit, then nodded. “Go get my bride,” he ordered. “And tell her that we’re going to Snowden.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, I'll include a link to the girl's outfit for this chapter! What do you think will happen next? Who could have been watching her if she was all alone...?
> 
> OH MY STARS, DARLING, WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT?! WHICH SOULS DID ASRIEL RELEASE?!
> 
> Relax, Mettaton! Okay, I'll give you a hint about the SOULS: all of the characters that he released DO NOT have boss fights in the Pacifist Route of Undertale, and only one of them can be engaged in battle in the Genocide Route. 
> 
> Alright, just a few notes! ...actually, just one note ...I really had a professor who said all of those things about Grimm fairy tales. She was CRAZY and I HATED her. She almost made us watch a horribly racist version of Snow White because she thought it was feminist. I just... *throws chair and screams*
> 
> ...LULU? DARLING...? OH, NO, I THINK SHE'S BROKEN! QUICK! LEAVE MORE KUDOS AND REVIEWS! ESPECIALLY REVIEWS! SHE NEEDS THOSE THE MOST! BUT TO OUR 93 KUDOS READERS...YOU'RE FABULOUS~I LOVE YOU ALL!
> 
> Outfit for the girl: https://www.polyvore.com/outfit_for_character/set?id=216567244


	25. Reluctant Servants, Eager Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the girl meets her 'servants' and interesting information is revealed, along with a surprising discovery in Snowdin...

She tried to tell herself that she was imagining things. But the longer she sat in the throne room, the harder it became to convince herself. So she stood and began to search for any hidden intruders. She found nothing, no one...but the feeling of being watched still lingered. She realized why this was as she started to return to her place by the throne: there were four newcomers standing in the entrance of the throne room. They had appeared with no warning, so the girl was naturally surprised. She yelped in greeting and took a step backwards. Two of the four Monsters also cried out and backed away, but one of them, the smallest among them, charged into the room and stood in front of the girl. “How come you’re wearing stripes if you’re not a kid?” He asked.

The girl blinked. “Um, what?”

“Oh, come on!” Monster Kid chuckled. “Everyone knows that kids wear stripes! But if you’re not a kid...then why are you wearing stripes?”

The girl shrugged. “I...like stripes…?” And striped clothes were really all that Toriel had in the bedroom in the house…

“Okay!” Monster Kid seemed to accept this answer. His three companions entered the room. The two that had been startled before now seemed to be braver. They flocked to the girl and looked her over.

“Ohmygosh, a human!”

“Like, check her out!” The girl had to smile.  _ How could I forget Catty and Bratty?  _ The alligator Monster poked the girl’s arm. “Humans are, like, so squishy and soft!”

“Oh my gosh, Bratty, are you calling her fat?”

“No, I’m not, I’m just saying that she’s cute! Skin is, like, so weird!”

“Like, that doesn’t matter!” The cat Monster smiled. “By the end of the week, she’s going to be our new best friend!”

“If King Ass-real can take a chill pill and actually let her have some fun!” The female Monsters seemed to have forgotten the girl’s presence, otherwise they would have asked for her input in the conversation. Monster Kid was also drawn to the girl and running his mouth.

“Asriel thinks you’re hot!”

The girl blushed. “Um, I…”

“Alright, alright, give her some space! Kids nowadays...no respect for personal space…” The fourth Monster stepped closer, and the girl finally recognized who it was: Gerson, the elderly vendor from Waterfall. His left eye met the girl’s gaze. He offered a wry smile. “Good. You’re not broken like that so-called prince out there.”

“The prince...Asriel!” The girl’s eyes widened. “He let you all go free! That’s wonderful...right…?” The Monsters seemed to lose a bit of their joy as the girl spoke.

“Yeah, but only so we could, like…”

“...be like your servants and stupid things like that! Hah!”

The girl’s nose wrinkled. “Um...I can take care of myself…?”

“Maaaaaaaaaaaaaybe…” Catty said as she cocked her head to the side. “Buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut…”

“But what?”

Bratty smiled. “Here’s a rhetorical question: what’s the best time for a makeover? Time’s up! The answer is: any time!”

“If you’re going to be our friend, you need to know these things...also, if we’re going to be slaves for that stupid goat prince, then we’re going to make his life miserable!”

“...that’s not a good idea,” the girl said in a whisper. Her eyes darted to the throne room entrance, looking to see if the aforementioned prince was there, eavesdropping. “Just do what he says…”

“Yeah, he kinda said that he only let me have freedom because he wants me to be an ‘incentive to keep everyone on their best behavior’ and that he ‘wouldn’t hesitate to harm the old-timer, either’,” Monster Kid said with an edge to his voice. He sighed. “Man, sometimes I wish I had arms so I could make air quotations. Fingers or claws, at the very least…” He smiled. “But I’m not worried! Undyne will break free and save everyone! Then he’ll be sorry!”

“Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaah, but let’s not tell him that to his face, m’kay?” Catty said. No one wanted to crush the poor Kid’s spirits by telling him the truth, which was that Undyne was just as helpless as the other SOULS...

“We should, like, do what he says,” Bratty added. She turned to the girl. “You are so right! We should keep him from getting angry!”

“Speaking of doing what he wants…he sent us to come and get you. He’s taking us to Snowdin,” Gerson rasped. The girl raised an eyebrow.

“Snowdin? Why?”

“Something about supplies, I think, but I dunno,” the old Monster shrugged. “Let’s not keep him waiting.” With that, the group left the room. They found their captor in the Hall of Judgement. He was tapping his foot against the floor and looking quite impatient.

“I almost had to wait,” he sneered at them in greeting. The girl rolled her eyes.  _ Wow, he’s in a charming mood. _ He led them out of the palace and through an unfamiliar path...another one of the mysterious shortcuts. Asriel was at the front of the group, of course. Monster Kid, Bratty, and Catty walked a few feet behind him, chattering to each other about the girl and how interesting she was and how fascinating humans seemed to be in general. The girl and the old Monster hung back, and this the girl saw an opportunity to get some answers to questions she had...

“Gerson, I was wondering...what do you know about human SOULS?”

The old Monster cackled. “Not much, missy! Only that their SOULS have much more Determination than ours! Only about a hundred or thousand of a certain kind of Monster could hope to go against humans, and even then, the humans would probably come out on top.”

“A certain type of Monster? What kind?” This piqued the girl’s interest.  _ Maybe I should have paid more attention to Gerson’s shop segments when I watched this world online… _

“We call ‘em ‘Boss Monsters’. Asgore and Toriel are the only two still around, but there used to be more back in my day. They’re unique in that when they have an offspring, the SOUL power of the parents flows into the child, which causes the child to grow as the parents age. But Asgore and Toriel don’t have children anymore, so they’ll probably stay the age they are now forever.” Gerson coughed. “Given that they’re trapped in the body of their son, I don’t think they’ll age, but the kid will. Or won’t.” He shrugged.

The girl nodded, but a new thought entered her mind:  _ What would happen if I had a child with Asriel?  _ Did he want children? Oh, God, what if he wanted children? She couldn’t do that! She wasn’t ready! She forced herself to take a deep breath to steady her voice, then began to chat with Gerson about other matters. She asked him why Asriel had chosen Bratty and Catty to be her ‘servants’. Gerson cackled and said something about a ‘feminine touch’, and the girl giggled. Gerson also reminded her that Asriel had selected them based on how weak they would be if they ever tried to rebel or escape. The girl moved on. She asked him if he had known any of the other fallen humans.

“Sure, I knew ‘em,” he said with a small chuckle. “Briefly, though. Very briefly.” That was all he said on the subject. By then, they had arrived at Snowdin. 

Asriel halted in his tracks, which forced the others to stop. He turned to the Monsters with narrowed eyes and started barking out orders, mostly for them to go and find supplies. One of the things he wanted was more food. The girl knew just where to go for that. She made a big point of going to Grillby’s...then when Asriel turned his back, she wandered over to the house of the skeleton brothers. Instead of going inside, she went around the back to where she knew Sans’ workshop was located. _ I know that I need a key for this, but...please work, please work… _ There was the oh-so-convenient bobby pin in her hair. Mettaton had placed it there when he gave her a makeover at the slumber party. She placed it in the keyhole and began to twist it, waiting and waiting...and then something clicked. The door opened. She breathed a sigh of relief and cheered in silence.  _ I can’t believe that worked! _ She dashed inside.

The room was exactly as Sans had left it. The first thing the girl went to check was the broken-down machine that she had no idea how to work. She examined it for a few moments, trying to figure out what the machine did or how it functioned, but became frustrated and gave up. She turned her attention to the cabinet with four drawers. She knew that two of them were already unlocked, so she opened them and went through the contents. There was a blueprint for the machine, but that was written in wingdings, and the girl had no idea how to read the symbols. There was also a group photo of Sans, Papyrus, Frisk, and their friends, an album containing names and pictures of people that the girl didn’t recognize, and a child’s drawing of three people with “Don’t Forget” written in blocky, crooked letters. The girl turned her attention to the next drawer and tugged on it. She was expecting it to be locked, so she was prepared to use the bobby pin again. Much to her surprise, the drawer was unlocked. It was almost as if someone knew that she was going to have to open it...she reached into the drawer and pulled out a thick, black notebook. The cover had wingdings written on it, but there was a sticky note attached to it, which had Sans’ handwriting. This read:

“dad’s notebook”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DUN DUN DUN. OH, MY GOSH, A NOTEBOOK? I LOVE NOTEBOOKS! I GET A NEW ONE EVERY DAY! WHAT SECRETS COULD BE WITHIN THE PAGES OF THIS PARTICULAR JOURNAL?! IS IT THE FAMILY HISTORY?! SECRETS OF THE SOUL?! MY NEW SCREENPLAY?!
> 
> ...it's not the last one, Mettaton...
> 
> OH, POO. WELL, IN ANY CASE...THANK YOU, FABULOUS 95 KUDOS READERS AND BEAUTIFUL REVIEWERS! I LOVE YOU ALL SO, SO MUCH! NOW, LEAVE MORE KUDOS AND COMMENTS SO THAT THE AUTHOR CAN PROCRASTINATE ON HER PHILOSOPHY PAPER! ...ALSO, I BET A CERTAIN INDIVIDUAL THAT THIS STORY WOULD REACH ONE HUNDRED KUDOS IN LESS THAN A WEEK BEGINNING WITH THIS CHAPTER UPDATE! HE SAID THAT IF THAT HAPPENS, HE'LL LET THE AUTHOR WRITE A COMEDIC FAN FICTION PIECE ABOUT HIM! COME ON, DARLINGS, I'M COUNTING ON YOU~
> 
> ...um, for the record, the author never agreed to this bet...but I'll go along with it anyway!


	26. Gaster's Journal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the supply run ends and the girl peeks at Gaster's journal...

The girl’s heart pounded in her chest during the walk back to the castle. She had grabbed a trash bag from the skeleton brothers’ house and placed the journal in it, then filled the bag with various supplies to hide the journal. She reunited with the others outside and saw what they had gathered: nothing. Asriel was furious. “Why haven’t you made yourself useful?!” He demanded in a threatening growl.

Gerson only chuckled, which made the girl antsy. She didn’t want Asriel to take his anger out on them… “Kids these days, not taking advantage of what’s right in front of their eyes,” the old Monster chuckled. “I keep all my spare things in those Dimensional Boxes,” he explained, pointing to the large wooden chest over by the Snowed Inn. “Makes storage easy and gets rid of the pain of carrying around all your possessions. There’s one right over by New Home. I can grab anything I want from it at any time.”

“Why didn’t you tell me this BEFORE we left?!”

Gerson remained calm. “You wouldn’t have listened. Even if you wanted to, you couldn’t. It’s hard to hear yourself think with all the voices in your head, isn’t it?”

Monster Kid had grabbed food supplies from Grillby’s. The girl made a mental note to pay Grillby...that is, if Asriel ever released him. Catty and Bratty only had one thing...and this thing perplexed Asriel. “A television?” He asked when they carried it over to him. “Why would I need that?”

“What?” Bratty scoffed. “Television is great! You can watch anime, cartoons, movies, play video games…”

“Movies and anime are THE most important, though!” Catty interrupted. “Like, our collection is so huge, it’s insane! We HAVE to go to the MTT Resort on the way back; all of our stuff is there!” Asriel rolled his eyes and shook his head. However, there was a sullen silence that hung around his servants and bride as he led the way back to the palace, so he relented and took a detour. The SOULS within him had nagged him about it, anyway.

_ “People work better in a good mood,” _ the burnout Burgerpants said.  _ “Even if the smile is forced and meaningless, the work is better.” _ He may have been right, because Catty and Bratty seemed much more eager to return to the palace once they had gathered a significant amount of DVDs in their arms. Asriel parted ways with the others for some time, joining them only for dinner. They ate their poorly prepared burgers and fries in silence, but after the meal, the girl and her friends gathered in front of the television in the throne room. (Catty and Bratty had worked hard to get it set up; they were much more resourceful than the girl thought they were.) Asriel had disappeared, but the girl and her friends didn’t mind. They binge-watched something called  _ Star vs. The Forces of Evil _ before they turned in for the night. Catty and Bratty had also brought along sleeping bags, which they set up and fell asleep in. Monster Kid curled up in one of them and fell asleep after a few minutes of tossing and turning. And Gerson, well...he tucked his head into his shell and fell silent, so the girl assumed he was asleep. She took the last available sleeping bag and dragged it to the side of the throne room. Gerson had cleaned up the broken window glass from Asriel’s past tantrum, so she had no problems setting up a place to sleep. She then pulled out what she had kept hidden from the others all day: the mysterious journal. She bit her lip with anticipation, then opened it.

The first half of the journal was written in wingdings; the girl had to flip to the second section to find Sans’ translation. Gaster appeared to have divided his writing into several categories. She flipped to the one titled: “On the Seven Great Virtues”.

_ Although humans and Monsters have different kinds of SOULS, there are seven traits, or “virtues” that every SOUL I have encountered possesses: Patience, Kindness, Bravery, Justice, Integrity, Perseverance, and Determination. Patience: the ability to wait, even in hopeless situations, until the right moment for acting. Kindness: the ability to achieve victory through nurturing and caring for others in hopeless situations. Bravery: the ability to confront obstacles in hopeless situations. Justice: the ability to maintain a moral code within hopeless situations. Integrity: the unique approach to solving problems in hopeless situations. Perseverance: the ability to take notes in hopeless situations to find victory. Determination: the ability to persist after death. The most Determined creatures have the ability to alter events by traveling back to a certain part of history or time...this is the ability to SAVE. Determination is the strongest of these virtues. I have not encountered anyone in the Underground with this ability yet… _

The girl shrugged. This information was basic knowledge to her. She flipped to another section: “On the Nature of SOULS: A Study in SOUL Power”. This area was formatted like a series of diary entries that spanned over the course of a few years…

_ Entry One _

_ Crown Prince Asriel is two years old now. I went to the palace to perform a routine examination on him, but I noticed that there were signs of fatigue in his parents, fatigue that wouldn’t alarm me under normal circumstances...but given that they are Boss Monsters, I asked if I could run a series of tests on them. I’ll return to the palace tomorrow to begin my research. _

_ Entry Two _

_ Fascinating. Fascinating! It appears that the SOUL power of the King and Queen has flowed into their child! These Boss Monsters should not be aging, and yet they are...how is this possible? My theory is that the King and Queen will continue to age until they die, and then the Prince shall stop growing...until he takes a partner and has children of his own...then the process repeats again… _

_ Entry Three _

_ My research on the transfer of SOUL power continues. I wonder...is it possible to transfer a human’s SOUL power into a Monster? SOUL traits cannot be extracted by force; the SOUL is a delicate thing that should not be tampered with by outside forces...but...if there was a union between a Monster and a human, would the human’s SOUL power flow into the Monster? Would it flow into their offspring? Unfortunately, there are no records of humans entering unions with Monsters, excluding...well, it doesn’t matter now. _

_ Entry Four _

_ I have found a book of children’s stories. Many of the stories deal with Monsters taking a human, usually a female, as a wife, which creates miracles for the Monsters. One of the stories seems to suggest that a union does create the transfer of SOUL power from human to Monster...if only I could see if this was true for myself… _

_ Entry Five _

_ A human female fell into the Underground today. When I heard the news, I rushed to find her. Asgore would have killed her, but...I saved her. I told him about my research, the possibilities...and the king has agreed to spare the human on the condition that she marry a Monster of her choosing. I am to monitor her at all times. This is going down in history! _

_ Entry Six _

_ It’s been a year since the union of the human and her Monster husband. The human is pregnant, but she does not have the joy of an expectant mother. I know that things have been hard on her, but we all must make sacrifices for the greater good. _

_ Entry Seven _

_ They’re dead. Asgore has instructed me to continue my construction on the Core and abandon my research on SOULs. _

The girl’s stomach churned. She wanted to know what had happened...but a part of her knew the truth. She decided to abandon this section of the notebook and skimmed the pages, looking for anything that could be used to rescue the captive SOULS...and save Asriel from his megalomaniacal delusions. There was something that stood out as promising: “On the Bonding of SOULS”.

_ Today I was asked to return to the palace to perform the annual examination upon Crown Prince Asriel. This time was different because of the latest addition to the royal family. As I examined them both, I asked if they had anything they wanted to tell me that they hadn’t told anyone else. I was expecting them to say something along the lines of, “My arm hurts.” Instead, Asriel revealed to me that he and his sibling had been having shared dreams ever since the human had entered the Underground. I would love to look more into this matter, but I will avoid it in case it involves the nature of SOULs...I assume that the shared dreams have to do with their SOULs and the fact that Asriel was the one who discovered the human within the Underground... _

The girl pouted. This wasn’t helpful at all! It was barely more than what Alphys had told her! She sighed.  _ Oh, well...it’s still interesting. _ She flipped ahead in the notebook a little bit, then found something of great interest: “On the Evil Entity”. Much to her disappointment and annoyance, all of Gaster’s writing for this part had faded. Sans had scribbled a few words every so often, but nothing fit together into a complete sentence. Nothing made sense:

_ Entity...unknown...wants...kill...demon...if...does not...exist...then...cannot...continue… _

The girl tucked the book underneath her pillow and closed her eyes. She had a mission now: to figure out what Gaster was writing. In the proper light by day, maybe she’d be able to see more of the message…

* * *

 

_ Everything was black and white, like an old photograph. But everyone in the room moved. Toriel was in Asgore’s arms. Her shoulders shook as she wailed into his chest, and a single tear rolled down his cheek as he stared at the person in the bed. Asriel was sitting at the edge of the bed, whispering through his tears to the person tucked under the covers. That person was propped up against the pillow, sitting up with a strange, strange smile on their face. The girl wanted to whisper their name, but she found herself unable to speak. Then Chara spoke: _

_ “I killed myself the other day. I killed myself and carried my body back to the garden. I watched Father put me in my coffin. I watched Mother take me to her home to bury me under the flowers.” _

* * *

 

When the girl woke up, her face was wet, but she couldn’t remember crying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OH MY GOD LULU JUST TELL US WHAT THE DREAMS MEAN!!!
> 
> No, not yet, Mettaton, the time is not right!
> 
> BUT WHEN?!! WHEN?!
> 
> Soon! Very soon! After Asriel and the girl have their first date!
> 
> OKAY...WHEN WILL THAT BE?!
> 
> Oh, Mettaton, you're so impatient! Good things come to those who wait! Sorry, my 96 kudos readers and my reviewers...he's just cranky because he lost a bet! I didn't reach 100 kudos since the last update after all!
> 
> AND NOW I OWE WOSHUA FIFTY G! BUT I STILL LOVE YOU ALL, PEOPLE WHO HAVE LEFT KUDOS AND COMMENTS! KEEP IT COMING! THE AUTHOR WILL UPDATE FASTER!


	27. Wkhb'uh frplqj. Uxq. Uxq!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> h0i!! i'm tEmmie!
> 
> tEm made new frend! he gonna leave a massage now!

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VKH KDV D QDPH DV ZHOO. KHU QDPH LV…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *forms conga line with Mettaton* *breaks away to perform elaborate dance moves*
> 
> We got a 100 kudos, baby! *continues dancing*
> 
> CONGRATS, DARLING, AND THANKS TO ALL THESE WONDERFUL READERS! WE COULDN'T HAVE DONE THIS WITHOUT YOU!
> 
> Don't worry, everyone, the next chapter is coming along! It's going to be pretty long and A LOT is going to happen. We're getting close to the end! I'm going to say that the new chapter will be ready...I don't know, hopefully this weekend? The end of my college semester is coming up, be patient with me! XD Have a great April Fool's Day...also, I WANTED to have this chapter in Wing Dings, but for some reason, I couldn't make the text work on this site...soo, I'll get you started on the path to deciphering the message:
> 
> http://themysteryofgravityfalls.com/


	28. New Powers, New Opportunities

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which someone new joins the band of servants and Asriel learns new things before asking the girl a question.

The rest of the week was uneventful. The girl and her “servants” were content to remain in the throne room, away from their monarch. Monster Kid liked to sit by Gerson and hear the old Monster tell stories...but Catty and Bratty were intent on giving each other makeovers, and they persuaded the girl to join in their fun every so often. They never saw Asriel, except at dinner. And after three days of eating poorly-prepared Glamburgers, Asriel decided enough was enough and released someone else to join his team of slaves.

Muffet was an excellent cook and her food was welcomed, but her cheerful attitude was gone. Without her spider companions, she felt so lonely. The group gave her space for about a day, but Catty and Bratty attempted to distract her with makeovers after that time had passed.

Every night, after Asriel left the group alone, they would huddle in front of the television Catty and Bratty had dragged into the throne room. They binge-watched several anime, including the first half of the first season of _Sword Art Online_ (which the girl noted, despite the flaws, had themes very similar to the situation she found herself in). After Gerson and Monster Kid had fallen asleep, the girls would stay up and engage in quiet conversations. Three nights after Muffet’s arrival, Bratty asked a serious question of the girl:

“How do you really feel about Asriel?”

“...what?”

“Oh, come on, dearie, you can tell us,” Muffet coaxed. “We ALL know how he feels about you...he’s obsessed!”

“I...don’t know,” she said. Her companions sighed in disappointment, and she elaborated, “I was attracted to him before I really got to know him, but...that was really his character, I guess. I didn’t know him as a person. But now that we’re his prisoners, I don’t know what to think.” She gave a half-hearted laugh. “I guess that if he and I spent time together as equals and got to know each other, really know each other, at least have a normal conversation, then...well, I think I’d like him a little more.” _A lot more._

During this week, Asriel kept himself very busy. His mind and body became a laboratory in which he was the scientist and the SOULS were his experiments. With enough concentration, he could isolate a SOUL, confine it to a certain part of his mind, and then probe it for secrets, Determination, or whatever powers they had that he could have wanted. There were two particular individuals that he delighted in experimenting with the most: Alphys and Sans. “How does this feel?” He would ask Alphys as he experimented with her SOUL. “How does this feel? You don’t like this, do you? It’s so funny...because neither did I when you did these things to me. You sicko, you enjoyed torturing Monsters, didn’t you?! At least I don’t try to hide how I feel!” He knew that there was nothing true about this, nothing at all, but Alphys never resisted when he examined her Determination. In fact, she seemed willing to be a part of the experiments, like she really believed she deserved this as some sort of punishment. Asriel became bored of this and stopped spending time with her SOUL when he realized that she had no special abilities. Sans, on the other hand…

He put up a fight against Asriel every time. It was challenging at first, but Asriel did, in the end, have the advantage, so he would triumph over Sans and begin experimenting with his Determination. And out of all of the powers Sans had, the one that Asriel wanted the most was the power of teleportation. The ability to go from one place to the other without the need for tunnels, shortcuts...that was what he wanted. And soon, the power was his. Within one day, he could move an item from one end of a room to the other. Within three days, he could transport himself from the palace to the Ruins. And so, he used this ability to check in on the Ruins every day to see if the human had returned. But there was nothing each time. And so, Asriel would use this power to spy on his precious girl and her companions. He overheard their conversations, saw their activities...but he was only really interested in her...and her thoughts on him. When he heard what she said about spending time with him, he became thoughtful, as did the SOULS within him. The Royal Guard wannabe, Papyrus, said something of interest: _“AH! SO, WHEN I CAPTURE A HUMAN AND HOLD IT PRISONER...THEN I CAN GO ON A DATE WITH IT? THAT SHOULD MAKE BECOMING FRIEND WITH IT EASY! I WISH THAT BOOK ON DATING HAD TOLD ME SO!”_

A book on dating...that was what Asriel needed! And he knew just where to find one: the Snowdin Librarby! Sure enough, there was one: the _Monster’s Guide to Dating_ by Debbie Downer. (Asriel had never encountered the author in any of his lifetimes, which made him assume that she was left behind after the war against the humans, but he decided not to investigate.) The book was a short read. It resembled a list of instructions instead of a book, but he didn’t complain. He read it over and over again:

 

_Step One: Ask them on a date_

_Step Two: Put on clothes to show you care_

_Step Three: Give them a meaningful gift_

_Step Four: Get to know them over conversation_

_Step Five: Let them decide what happens next_

 

It seemed simple on paper, but Asriel soon found out that Step One was harder than it looked. He learned the hard way when he found the girl alone (in a rare moment in which the others left the throne room to admire the splendor of the castle). He had lingered by the throne room door, watching the girl as she watered the flowers. He had taken a deep breath before he marched right up to her, waited for her to look at him, and then said, with all of the confidence that a future king should possess:

“UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH….”

She had been startled, maybe even a little frightened by this sudden entrance, but this gave way to confusion. She raised an eyebrow as he stood, frozen, and let his mouth make that sound. “Are...are you okay…?” She asked, half-concerned, half-cautious. Asriel had continued to make that sound until the others returned. At that point, he had blurted out:

“I HAVE TO GO OVER THERE NOW!”

And then he teleported away. He decided that maybe the first step was something he could skip over for the time being. He began to think about what he would wear to the date. On the one hand, he loved his regular attire: the Delta Rune robe with rounded sleeves. It was more elegant than the sweaters and pants he had worn as a child...and when he tried on his father’s “Mr. Dad Guy” sweater, he looked ridiculous. There was no way he’d be wearing that! He had to look kingly! Intimidating! And also...attractive. He had no idea what the human concept of attractiveness was, but he decided that he would do his best to make himself look presentable. As for the clothing...Asriel ultimately decided that he’d stick with his regular robe, but also wear his father’s cape. Now...what would he give her as a gift…?

Asriel realized that he really did know nothing about her. But...if he got to know her better, then he’d be able to give her the perfect gift. What was the harm in switching around a few of the steps?

But...where would he take her for the date? What would they do? What if she didn’t have fun? Asriel felt his heart twist with anxiety, but...it was a pleasant anxiety. He was nervous, but also eager to make sure that she...genuinely had a pleasant time with him. Asriel had to facepalm whenever he thought this. “Ugh! I’m getting sentimental!”

Still...one step had to stay the same: asking her out. So he stood in front of a mirror and practiced what he would say to her:

“Do you want to go out with me? Do you...want to go out...with me? Do you wanna go out? Would you like to go out...with me? Would you be interested in going out with me? UGH! I DON’T KNOW HOW TO TALK TO GIRLS THIS IS POINTLESS POINTLESS POINTLESS POINTLESS!”

The SOULS seemed to have a unanimous opinion on the issue. The opinion was that he needed to stop being a baby and just go for it. Asriel decided to take their advice, but only once the girl was by herself. There was no way he was asking her out in front of the others! And he soon got an opportunity: one day, the servants decided to visit the castle library, leaving the girl behind. She didn’t accompany them because she said she already had something to read. THIS was the opportunity. And so...Asriel entered the throne room and approached her. She didn’t look up from her book; she was too absorbed in the words to notice that he was there. He cleared his throat. She glanced up, surprised by the sudden sound, but relaxed when she saw who it was. “Can I...help you…?”

“Um…” _WOW, super kingly opening line!_ “I was...I was wondering...if you...wanted to…” _Oh, come on, you sound like that human actor, what’s his name! William Shapner? Shitner? Get to the point!_ “...wantedtogoonadatewithmetonightortomorrownightorwheneveryoufeellikeit…?” _STUPID, STUPID, STUPID!_

“A-are you asking me on a date…?” Her eyes widened.

“...yes,” he replied, and his voice actually cracked a little. Her brow furrowed in thought and she chewed on her lower lip before she gave her answer:

“Yes. But on one condition.”

Asriel’s breath caught in his throat. “Which is…?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OH MY STARS WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT?!
> 
> Easy, Mettaton, easy! Alright, everyone, I apologize for the delay, but things have been busy! I had to finish up my semester at college, then spend two weeks in Poland. Between that and other, smaller projects, I've been mentally drained...to be honest, I'm not too happy with how this chapter turned out, buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut I promise you that the next one will be WAY better! And I'm going to try to update the next chapter more quickly, I promise!
> 
> THANKS, AS ALWAYS, TO OUR FABULOUS 103 KUDOS READERS AND THE REVIEWERS WE HAVE! I LOVE YOU ALL!
> 
> Edit: June 11, 2017: "Flora E. Vore". Rearrange the letters and you get "forever alone". I thought I was being clever, but my brother informed me about "vore", and so I changed the name of the author to Debbie Downer. Because that's BASICALLY WHAT MY BROTHER HAS BEEN FOR THE PAST FEW DAYS.


	29. You're Coming Back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You decide to play the game.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's this?! The reader is actually entering the story?! *gasp* Oh, my, what WILL happen now?!

You were so bored.

There was nothing to do. Every book in your room had been read before, your favorite fan fictions hadn’t been updated in such a long time, you had already beaten most of the video games you owned...and the ones with any real replay value weren’t appealing to you at the moment. You sighed as you glanced out your window.

It was a beautiful day outside. Birds were singing, flowers were blooming...you blinked as you realized how your thoughts had led you back to that old game of yours. Undertale. It wasn’t terribly old; it had only come out a few years ago. But still...you had lost interest in replaying that after the fourth or fifth Pacifist run. You REFUSED to do a Genocide run: the first time you had played the game, you had killed three Froggits without batting an eye, and when Flowey mocked you for it, you felt horror. And when Sans confronted you about it, you felt guilt and regret...so you vowed that you would never harm another creature in that game again.

You logged into your computer and went onto the game’s wiki. There had to be something cool, something that you hadn’t noticed before in other playthroughs of the game, something that would justify you going back to the game again…

...wait. Since when did you ever need an excuse for playing a game that you enjoyed? Who cared if some people scorned the game because of the fandom? The game was still good, even if the fandom was a little crazy from time to time...but wasn’t that true of everything?

Oh, what the heck. You smirked and closed out of your browser. Your mouse icon trailed over to a pixelated heart on your desktop.

It was time to go back to the world of Monsters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I know I'm a bit of a horrible person for not continuing that cliffhanger, but I was daydreaming in my Public History class yesterday and I looked up "The Neverending Story" on my tablet and...I had inspiration for how to incorporate you, the reader, into this tale.
> 
> Just a few notes:
> 
> First, I apologize to the Genocide players, but...you're Pacifist for this story. Sorry!
> 
> Second, the logic of our story will function on "Neverending Story" logic: once you interact with the game in a certain way, you will be transported into the game's world. (I was originally going to have things function with "Sword Art Online" logic, but the more I thought about it, the less it made sense, so I wasn't happy with it.)
> 
> Third: once you really become connected to the game's world, you WILL be playing the role of a Pacifist Frisk. Think of Frisk as a shell, and you are the SOUL that will control their body...the SOUL that Chara asks for at the end of Genocide runs.
> 
> ...well, I think that's about everything! Stay tuned, the date will begin shortly, you'll become a large part of the story, and all sorts of stuff!
> 
> AS ALWAYS, DARLINGS, LEAVE KUDOS, COMMENTS...EVEN REQUESTS FOR WHAT CAN HAPPEN NOW THAT YOU'RE GOING TO START SEEING THINGS OUR WAY~THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO LEFT KUDOS AND REVIEWS! I LOVE YOU ALL!


	30. Getting Ready for the Big Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which you discover something interesting and the girl prepares for the big night out...

You had written down a list of new things to do in a Pacifist Run...things that you hadn’t done in previous runs. These included: get the key to Sans’ room, go into Mettaton’s house and read his diaries, and unlock the Mysterious Door after watching the game’s credits.

You were prompted to choose the name of the Fallen Human. You smiled as you typed in “the true name”: C-H-A-R-A. However, instead of being taken to the first scene of the game, in which Frisk wakes up on a pile of flowers, you were greeted by another black screen with white letters and a prompt:

“Name the captive bride.”

* * *

“That the others come with me.”

His mouth fell open. “You’ve got to be joking! It isn’t...we can’t...it has to be just us for it to be a real date!” He stammered.

“Is that written in your book?” She asked. _Oh, NO, she even knows about the book! How did she know that I...was she just guessing?! Ugh! How can someone be so infuriating...and fascinating...and attractive…_

“...fine,” Asriel scowled. “But only if they stay ten feet away from us at all times!”

“Fair enough,” the girl shrugged. There was a pause before she continued, “Soooo...are you going to come get me for the thing, or am I going to go to you, or…? And...should I wear anything fancy?”

“Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh….” Oh, no, the awkwardness was back! The girl sighed.

“So...semi-formal, then? I’ll see you...later.” Her voice trailed off as she glanced over his shoulder, and when Asriel turned to see what she was looking at, he swore under his breath. Right, I forgot about them…

“Is everything okay, dearie?” Muffet asked, her voice laced with suspicion. Asriel teleported away, not wanting to hear what the girl had to say.

“Um...apparently we’re going out tonight,” she said at last.

“You mean, like, a DATE?! You’re going on a date with the prince?!” Catty gasped.

“No, no, no, I mean...well, yes, but you’re all coming, too,” the girl clarified.

Monster Kid gasped. “But we never get to go anywhere fun these days!”

“Yeah, what’s the catch?” Gerson narrowed his eyes. The girl sighed.

“Um, you can’t come within ten feet of me or him during the dinner?”

“Fine with me!”

“No arguments here!”

“Like, whatever.”

“Who cares? What are we gonna wear tonight? What are YOU gonna wear?” Bratty asked the girl.

“Um, I was thinking I’d find something that I haven’t worn before from the pile of clothes…”

“Oh my gosh, NO,” Catty interrupted. “You CANNOT do that. We’ve been through all those clothes and NONE of them are date-worthy material!”

“I’m sure I could fix that~” Muffet started to say, but the two teen Monsters ignored her. Catty began to circle the girl, looking her up and down.

“I’m thinking, like...blue…”

“No, green!” Bratty cut in. “It’ll go better with her eyes! And you need to have, like, long sleeves and a long skirt to accentuate your figure!”

“Uh, yeah, Bratty, that’s why SHORT sleeves and skirts work better!”

“No, we’re going to have her wear long!”

“Short!”

“Long!”

“Short! And I’m thinking something with a floral-print pattern, those are very trendy right now!”

“I don’t think she should follow the crowd; she should go with something bolder, like hearts!”

“Flowers!”

“Hearts!”

“Why don’t you two pick out what you’ll be wearing tonight~?” Muffet suggested. Bratty and Catty gasped and dashed out of the throne room, presumably to find their secret stash of fabulous clothes. When they were gone, Muffet turned to Gerson and Monster Kid. “And you two need to leave. I’m in charge of making this one lovelier than she already is~” The two male Monsters were more than happy to get away from the spider Monster. Once she was alone with the girl, she licked her lips with anticipation and beamed. “Ah, it’s been so long since I got to design an outfit for someone...I might be a little rusty, but ah well~”

“Are you sure this is really necessary?” The girl asked.

“Dear, listen to me,” Muffet said as she looked the girl up and down. “Around here, there are only two places to ‘go out’ for dinner: Grillby’s and the MTT Resort. Now, Asriel’s a prince, so he’s used to the finer things in life...that and MTT Resort is closer to the palace. I’m willing to bet half the profits of my last bake sale on him taking us there tonight. Now!” She clasped two hands together and pursed her lips. “Since the place is fancy, and this IS your first date with him, I’m thinking that we make you stand out...really shine...that’s it! I know just what to do!” She dashed to the other side of the room. “Let’s see, I always have my little helpers bring one to every location...there should be one over...here!” She returned with a large sewing kit and a grin on her face. This was the happiest that the girl had ever seen the spider Monster, and so she couldn’t help but get excited, too.

“Rainbow threads...with just a few sequins to give that metallic shine...and voila!” Muffet presented the girl with a beautiful dress.

“I’ll wear it, but I won’t wear high heels,” the girl teased.

Muffet gave a good-natured roll of her eyes. “He won’t be paying attention to what you’re wearing under the dress, dear...and if he does,” her voice suddenly became venomous, “I want you to call for me.. But you can wear sneakers, for all we care~” She chirped.

The girl blinked. Sometimes Muffet’s unpredictability was a little frightening...in times like these, it was best not to question her. So she slipped into the dress and let Muffet look her over a few more times and adjust the hem. “And as much as I hate to admit this, Bratty was right: flowers would suit you!” She gathered plucked some golden flowers off of the ground and examined them. “And since every prince deserves a princess, or so HE thinks, I’m going to make you a crown~” And so she tied the flowers together and crowned the girl with them. “You’re all set~”

There was a knock at the throne room door. Muffet and the girl froze. Nobody knocked...the only one it could have been was…

“It must be him!” The girl remained motionless. “Well, go on,” Muffet coaxed the girl. “He’s waiting...and remember, we’ll be there, too.” The girl nodded and began the long march to the door...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LULU. OH. MY. GAWD. WHY ARE YOU NOT GETTING US TO THE DATE?!
> 
> Because, I like to keep you in suspense...trust me, the next chapter shall have: drama! Romance! Entertainment! And maybe, just maybe...a hint of Mettaton~
> 
> I'M MAKING A COMEBACK?! OOOOOH~
> 
> Maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaybe~you'll see~
> 
> Alright, a few things! First off, as usual, thanks for your support, comments, and kudos! You're still going to be playing a major role in this story...and if I were you, I'd start thinking of names for our nameless female prisoner!
> 
> I like to think that Muffet dabbled in fashion before settling on becoming a baker for spiders...meh, I don't know, I'm weird!
> 
> As always, leave kudos and comments to make me write faster, as well as your own theories and suggestions for what you'd like to see now that you're becoming a part of the story! College is crazy, but I'm going to do my best to stay on top of updates! Coming up soon: the date, dream revelations, you becoming more involved with the world of Undertale!
> 
> Here's a link to what the girl is wearing to the date...I think that the color scheme fits with Asriel's "God of Hyperdeath" look!  
> https://www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=229359379


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